Immolation
by GolasGames
Summary: After the fall of Vale, Ruby Rose joins Juane, Ren, and Nora to investigate the dark plot that has been plaguing Remnant. Along the way they meet a stranger who can help them to achieve their goal, and he seems to have plans of his own... Hey everyone, this is my first story pretty much entirely. It is an alternate story line that takes place immediately after Vol 3.
1. Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

Immolation

By: GolasGames

Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

A/N:

Before we begin here I would like to let you all know that this is my first work at all that wasn't school related, so bear in mind I may not be the greatest and very well may have room for improvement. That being said, any constructive criticism will be taken with respect and I would like to hear how you all think of this story.

Also, this story is taking place at what I have been predicting what Volume 4 will start like, which my theory is that Ruby and **[VOLUME 3 SPOILER]** the remaining members of Team JNPR (Juane, Ren, and Nora) are attempting to find Blake and Weiss to get Team RWBY back together as best as possible. From there I'll have to come up with more for the storyline. I do have a general overview of what the plot will be like, along with a few arcs, and I also have the ending planned out, so no worries there, except for how I will deliver and fill the empty space. I don't really think it's necessary to give a spoiler warning considering I already said this takes place after Volume 3, but here it is: **[VOLUME 3 SPOILER ALERT]**.

And lastly I know this may anger many people, but I'm using a couple OCs in this story, one of my creation, the other is one of my friends'. The friend is also my head editor, so I'll give him a shout-out if he's comfortable with me doing so. And I know I may be considered trash by many due to using OCs, but this story revolves around my OC and is about him and his quest that will be revealed throughout the story. I have a deep and, in my opinion, interesting backstory for him that will be show through his dreams, flashbacks, and chats with the other characters. My friend's OC is included because he and I thought it would be interesting if we included our OCs in each other's stories because they will fill in some lore that would otherwise not work without us saying "Because I said so," and of course it also lets us give each other some shout-outs. If anyone here hates OCs to the point that all you're going to do is complain about the fact that I use them and have them interact with the main cast, then you have no need to read any further. This _IS_ a story about an OC, so don't torture yourself any further. And for those who are willing to give it a chance, I thank you.

P.S. I do plan on introducing some Bumblebee in here at the moment and a hint of White Rose (WR however will be very brief). Hopefully this can compensate for some of the hate I will likely receive for the whole OC thing.

[Edit] This story was started before RTX 2016, so my story may now be diverging from the canon lore sadly.

Now, without further ado, I give you: Immolation.

These were usually happy walks through the woods during the winter on the island of Patch, but recent events do not give Ruby Rose that luxury. With all of the events of Ruby's recent memories there is so much anarchy, so much chaos, and worst of all, so much sadness and loss. Two of her teammates are gone, her sister isn't the same anymore after having lost a limb, an as a cruel cherry on top of this demented cake, one of her friends was killed directly in front of her.

Nonetheless of the atrocities that had occurred recently, or at least as recent as a coma can make it feel, Ruby is determined to get Team RWBY back together and mend the breaks they had. _'Banzai'_ was a thought that came to mind whenever Ruby thought of her mission, reminiscent of the good ol' days.

The others seemed to catch on to the young leader's distress when Juane began to strike up a conversation. "So, uh Ruby. Have any fond memories of the winters here with Yang?" He asked trying to help ease her feelings.

Ruby turned her thoughts to her friends she was walking with and immediately felt sorry for bringing an awkward vibe in the first place, but appreciating her friend's effort to lighten the mood. "Yeah." A smile formed on her face There were plenty of times where we built snowmen, had sled rides, and one specific event I remember is this one time where me and Yang had this huge~ epic snowball fight. A bunch of our friends got involved and it ended up turning more into an all-out war pretty soon."

This earned a laugh from the entire group.

"Sounds like fun times." Juane said after he was finished laughing about the story of the 'Great Snow War of Patch.'

"War never changes." Ren spoke up for the first time since they left from Ruby's home, being his usual quiet self. His comment brought up even more laughter from the crowd. Juane's attempt at lightening the mood was certainly working out.

From there the group shared stories about their experiences of previous winters throughout their childhoods. This made their journey, along with the time, go by much faster, and soon enough the sun was beginning to set.

"We should probably set up camp for the night." Juane suggested, sadly interrupting one of Nora's stories of a past snowman building competition she and Ren had entered. Everyone nodded in agreement, all knowing well it would be dangerous to travel in the wilderness at night without sleep. "Who's got first shift on guard duty?"

"Yo." Ruby jumped at the job almost immediately, which elicited a memory of a familiar setup during one of her adventures in, or rather, outside of Beacon.

"Actually Ruby, you look pretty tired. How about I take first watch, since I don't feel weary at all yet?" Ren suggested. He was right, Ruby was pretty tired. She wondered how, but then immediately remembered she'd only recently come out of a coma.

"Alright, thanks Ren." Ruby replied with a smile, feeling grateful for the opportunity of rest.

The group sat around the campfire Juane made continuing their stories and bringing up new ones, all while feasting on some of the food they had prepared. Although the canned beans weren't the fanciest meal, they got the job done, and were honestly pretty tasty.

Slowly one by one the members started getting into their sleeping bags and nodding off into sound sleep under the stars. Ren kept watch for about two and a half hours before he began feeling tired himself. He woke up Juane to trade places, in which Juane happily obliged after a minute to wake up fully.

At around one in the morning Juane felt tired again and decided to trade places with Nora. After a long yawn she got up and set Magnhild to its grenade launcher state, deciding ranged combat would be better for a first strike if there was to be a battle.

The guarding didn't seem required for the night at this point, but it was always better to be safe. It's a good thing Nora knew this, because soon enough a beowolf could be heard near the camp.

Nora readied Magnhild as the sounds grew closer, knowing the creature wasn't changing its meandering course. She eventually saw its glowing red eyes a good few meters away, thus deciding it was time to do her job.

Nora fired a grenade at the Grimm severely wounding it, but not killing it. The beowolf let out a pained howl, not only expressing the pain it felt as it had its legs blown off from the explosion, but also calling to the pack it came from to its position.

At this point everyone else was jolted awake from the sound of an impending battle and were preparing their weapons.

"What's going on?" Ruby questioned, still a little drowsy while loading a fresh magazine into Crescent Rose.

"A beowolf came up on the camp and I shot it, but it survived and called for more I think." Nora said hastily, hoping she hadn't screwed them over.

"Alright guys, sleepy time's over. Get ready for a good fight." Juane said readying himself for battle, getting into a defensive stance. He has changed into a stringer man and began thinking more tactically in battle ever since Phyrra had fallen at Cinder Fall's hand.

Ruby was surprised seeing Juane changing from the awkward, unskilled fighter to a more confident and capable combatant. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Grimm coming their way.

"Get ready guys, this is gonna get interesting." She said with a smirk as the horde of beowolves came into view.

There was a much larger concentration of beowolves than usual here. Where there would normally be a pack of up to twenty at most, the amount approaching Ruby and her friends were well over eighty.

This wouldn't be as much of a problem if it wasn't for the team being drowsy and that they were almost completely surrounded.

Ruby and the others began opening fire on the massive group of Grimm coming towards them before they had to switch to melee combat.

Ruby switched Crescent Rose into its scythe form and made quick work of five more beowolves, their corpses already beginning to evaporate by the time she made her next charge.

She looked to her team to check on their status. Ren and Nora were working together to fight of a group of about ten of the beasts circling them, while Juane was left on his own to fight off three.

Ruby was surprised at how well Juane was fighting now, he hadn't even taken a single blow yet, already better than usual, and had already decapitated two beowolves. _'Maybe Phyrra's death made him a stronger man.'_ She thought to herself as she blasted a hole through a beowolf's chest, leaving a large open cavity, then slicing another in half from the force sending her backwards.

The group was fighting well, but they soon began feeling weary from the battle and lack of proper sleep throughout the night. And to make matters worse there only seemed to be more Grimm pouring in from the woods.

Juane was now surrounded and guaranteed a death sentence from the beasts until a shotgun blast blew the brains of one of the creatures all over the poor kid, along with the beast's brethren.

The Grimm surrounding him looked at where the sound came from only to be met with a sword piercing them together like a kabob.

Ruby immediately recognized the newcomer and shouted out in both glee and surprise. "Uncle Qrow! What are you doing here?!"

Qrow pulled his sword from the two beowolves he had just killed and turned to his niece. "Well I noticed you all looked ready to go on a nice little field trip and thought I'd tag along to make sure you didn't get yourselves into any trouble." He smirked at the end of his statement. "Looks like it's a good thing I did."

His weapon began its transformation from its sword form into its scythe form, with the sword extending and curving as the gears turned. He now moved on to attacking more of the wolf-like abominations and the others followed suit.

With the help of the drunkard spy the group managed to take down a large portion of the Grimm attack. But at this point the group have been taking hits and their aura was depleting.

Qrow was too busy focusing on protecting the kids to notice a beowolf coming up behind him. Ruby saw the beast take a leap at her uncle and cried out to him. "Uncle Qrow look out!" But it was too late for her to do anything.

However, a gust of wind and a blood splatter on Qrow's uniform later, the beast that was going to dig its claws into Qrow was now split in two and soaring through the air only to hit the ground with a crunch of the snow under each half of the former threat.

Everyone was in a daze as they knew none of them had attacked the creature, then they noticed another figure fighting off the Grimm with them.

He was wearing dark clothing that looked like some kind of a military uniform. There were two small circular metal plates resting on his thighs that had a light blue ring around them and another single plate, similar to them but larger, on his back.

His hair was light brown and his eyes were a steel grey. He had a fairly attractive face with the slight stubble of a beard. He was a teenager about the age of everyone in Team RWBY but their younger leader.

He had a sword that much resembled a katana in his left hand, the culprit of the now evaporating two halves of a beowolf, and a high caliber pistol in his right hand, firing it into the heads and chests of the Grimm while slicing through any other with his sword. He moved around the battlefield swiftly, and clearly had more years of combat training than the other teens that were present.

After slaying more beowolves he positioned his hands to his sides where the plates on his thighs opened up as the weapons dissipated into particles that flowed into the capsules before they closed once more. He then reached his right hand to the disc on his back which was open as well. The blue ring around the disc shot out a light that created the wire frame of what looked to be an assault rifle. The same particles as before flowed out from the disc and into the wire frame, forming a fully functioning high tech model if the iconic AK-47. He immediately opened fire onto more Grimm charging at him the moment the light forming the wire frame disappeared and the device on his back closed.

He held his ground as more and more bodies piled in front of him. Now the rest of the group regained their senses and returned to fighting themselves.

After a few minutes of fighting a loud roar was heard from behind the group as an ursa major made its way into view. The group opened fire on it considering it was the only creature of Grimm left.

It absorbed the hits from the bullets like a sponge absorbs water. There was no way they could take this thing down without either much higher caliber weaponry or specialty dust ammunition, like the types Weiss uses.

It was at this point that the mysterious teen stored his rifle in the strange device on his back and in its place was a strange looking gun that looked like something out of a sci-fi film or game.

He took aim at the ursa's left arm and charged the strange weapon. It glowed as it seemed that lightning was beginning to shape around it. At this point Ruby came to the conclusion that the stranger had just equipped himself with a railgun.

The young stranger fired a shot at the ursa's arm he had targeted, ripping it clean off like a hot knife through butter. As blood poured from the wound while the beast cried out in pain, another rail was being loaded into one of the most powerful weapons known to be made in all of Remnant.

He shot off the ursa's remaining arm and stored the weapon in the plate on his back and retrieving a grenade launcher that looked similar to Nora's, but more advanced and in factory colors rather than pink and silver.

He leapt and fired a grenade at the ground beneath him, the explosion launching him higher into the air. While airborne he traded the grenade launcher for a large two-handed sword and plummeted towards the ursa, decapitating it on the way to the ground.

As the ursa's head rolled on the ground and its corpse toppled to the soil, everyone stood in shock at the sight before them. Well, everyone but Qrow.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Ruby ended up breaking the silence when she awoke from her stupor.

The stranger merely turned towards the group and bowed. "Thank you for the compliment," He replied with a deep voice. "You weren't all that bad yourselves out there, that is," He turned to Qrow "until my old friend here needed me to save his ass." He let out a playful smirk at this, earning a glare from Qrow and questioning looks from everyone else.

"He only snuck up on me because I was focusing on protecting the others." Qrow let out a small grin as he held out his hand towards the stranger and pulled him into the standard hug that a sports team would perform, clapping the teen's back a few times. "So what brings you out here kid?"

The stranger opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Nora. "Excuse me! I don't mean to be rude but who are you anyway?"

Ruby piped up as well. "Yeah, and how do you know my uncle?"

The stranger and Qrow exchanged a quick glance which Qrow ended with a nod. The stranger began to speak again. "The name's Harkness Valenwood. And as to how I know Qrow here, he's kinda been a godfather to me."

This statement earned even more questioning looks towards the stranger named Harkness.

"Again, what are you doing here Harkness?" Qrow inquired from the teen.

"I've been doing some research on what's been going on recently and in that research discovered some secrets you and Ozpin have been hiding. Some secrets of someone who is no longer present here." At this he looked towards Juane and his remaining teammates. "I am dreadfully sorry for your loss." There was a sad look on his face when he mentioned Phyrra's death, knowing that the loss of a teammate, more so the loss of a friend, was nothing to be taken lightly.

"Thanks." Juane replied scratching the back of his head and looking away.

"And that brings you Patch because~...?" Qrow prodded.

"Because I knew you would be here to see the recovery of your beloved niece. Plus, you're not the only one who knows how to track people down y'know?" Harkness's voice was calm, then playful, but now is taking on a serious tone as his face grew stern. "And I want some answers as to what the hell happened at Beacon those few weeks ago."

"Alright kid, I'll explain it to ya over the trip we're taking."

"What do you mean by that?" Harkness asked, confused.

"I mean that if you want answers, you're gonna have to join us to wherever these kids are heading." Qrow answered, his taunting smirk growing.

"Qrow, you do realize that I'm still not the most social guy right? What makes you think that I would take a hike with a bunch of people I just met?" Harkness retorted, angered at the dick move that Qrow had pulled on him, knowing full well and why Harkness wasn't a social bug.

"The fact that you need information that I have. Not to mention that you can't be the lone soldier all the damn time, that you've got to be a human being sometimes." Qrow leaned in closer to Harkness and whispered into his ear. "Plus you get to spend some time with my niece. I've seen how you looked at her during her private training sessions with me." Qrow gave a wink as he drew away.

Harkness was flustered for a moment but quickly regained his composure. "First off, the whole 'being a human being' means a whole lot coming from you," Sarcasm was clear in the teen's voice. "Secondly, you really are an asshole, you know that?"

"Believe me I've been called a lot worse than that in my days kid." Qrow smirked at his remark. "So, you comin' with or not?"

After a long moment of silence and a sigh from Harkness, the teen finally spoke up. "Alright. But you owe me later on for this Qrow."

The older man smirked. "Kid, I owe you more than I could ever possibly repay."

"Then I guess you'll have to put in some overtime eventually." For the first time since the conversation made a turn, Harkness smirked once more.

A/N:

First off, what do you guys think? I would love to continue my work on this story and probably will regardless if I get a large following or not, but if you guys do like it be sure to let me know! Also give me advice on things I should or shouldn't do, any constructive criticism will be appreciated.

Second, earlier I mentioned that there will be some Bumblebee in here down the road. Considering this is my first story I haven't planned on including the more _"intimate"_ scenes because I'd like to have a story to brag about to about to friends and family that isn't a porno. However, if I get enough requests I may be willing to change that (for those who _really_ want them citrusy fruits).

Thirdly, I'd like to say that I am planning on giving this story bi-weekly updates. An author of one of my favorite fanfics on here mentioned that doing it worked out really well for them so I'm gonna try the same. Bear in mind that is the plan _at the moment_. I have a lot going on in life right now so chapters may be delayed on occasion, and I apologize in advanced for that.

And lastly, I want to thank you all for giving my story a chance. As I said before, I know that the whole OC thing gets the goat of a lot of people, so I really appreciate you all sticking through it all. Thanks for reading, feel free to write a review, favorite, and/or follow. I hope to see you all soon!

Peace out.

-GG

 **Edit:** Regarding the second paragraph mentioning changing my mind on adding " _intimate_ " scenes, if you guys want that at least, there will be a separate fic I'll be uploading eventually that will feature extras for this fic. It will essentially be like bloopers, deleted scenes (essentially my original plans that I may have changed while editing), and yes, the more _touchy feely_ scenes. There will definitely be bloopers and deleted scenes for sure, but the final extras are up to you guys, so let me know what you all want!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N:

Hey ya everyone! Glad to see you sticking around!

Got some nice stuff coming up here for ya hopefully. Kinda funny story too heh~… I kinda accidentally lost this entire chapter before so~ yeah. Remade it from the ground up lol.

If any of you are worried that I lost my original vision for this chapter, you don't have to. I remembered the general gist of it, and honesty I view this whole ordeal as a way to get some editing done.

Hope you enjoy!

Upon opening her eyes, a young cat-faunus finds herself in a fairly empty apartment. Aside from the bed, couch, and kitchen appliances the rooms she used as her quarters are open and unfilled.

The faunus girl made her way through the halls of the complex to enter the streets. The entire block in which she has resided in for the past two weeks has been made into a safe zone by the Vale police and military.

The streets were lined with tents as quarters for the soldiers, police, and any citizens who weren't able to fit into the apartment buildings available. A few of the buildings that used to be stores have been converted for other uses. One of which is the cafeteria, another is used as a supply depot, and yet another as the armory. Makeshift gates have been made on the ends of the streets to allow any survivors in, along with any search parties access in and out.

During her time here Blake has made quite a name for herself from helping find survivors outside the walls and bringing them in.

Blake made her way to the cafeteria to get her morning meal. After acquiring an MRE package, which just so happens to be the only type of food they have available, she made her way to one of the many tables and took a seat next to a few of the soldiers and police.

While eating she picked up some of the conversation the group was talking about. Mostly just scheduled times that more people will be able to get evacuated.

When they left after finishing their meal, Blake is now left alone with only her thoughts. As she continued eating she began thinking of the past few weeks, and how it had come to be this way. It all started when the Vytal tournament fell into chaos. Beacon was attacked, Vale as a whole was falling, and Yang had gotten severely wounded. For all Blake knows she could even be dead.

Having that thought cross her mind made the faunus wince. Yes, the brawler can be a nuisance and a pain sometimes, but Blake has grown to like that in her. In fact, she found that there were more things she liked about the blonde. The ways she acts with Ruby, the way she supports the team. Hell, even those facepalm-worthy puns were likable.

On thinking of Yang she also remembered other parts about the girl. The way her mane that she calls hair flows in the wind, how she toys with said hair when she's troubled, the sway when she walks…

Blake suddenly slapped herself to keep her mind from straying in that direction. _'Damn, that blonde actually made me fall for her.'_ The faunus thought to herself. _'And I just left her, probably when she needed me the most. What's wrong with me.'_

Her darker thoughts were interrupted when a tray was slapped on the table right next to her. "Mind if I join you?" A man's voice asked.

When turning to face the man she recognized him as one of the officers of Vale's military that was stationed at the refugee camp. From the unique clothing she could tell he must have been a higher rank than most of the others there. She let a small smile grace her lips and motioned with her hand for him to sit, which he immediately did afterwards.

"I hope it's not much of a bother, you just looked a bit disturbed. I know that look." He said pointing to Blake's face for emphasis. "What's eating you?"

Blake remained silent for a moment as she took a few more bites of her previously packaged chicken, then decided to indulge the man in his question. "There's been a lot going through my mind recently. Some really bad things happened." She stared at the chicken in front of her face for a moment in silence.

"Well there has been a lot of shit going down the last few weeks, pardon my French. Wanna shed some more light on the subject?"

Blake continued. "When everything started falling into anarchy at Beacon, a close friend of mine got hurt. She got hurt really bad, and by someone I used to know." She felt a tear start to from in her left eye and soon begin rolling down her face. "And now I just realized I care about her more than I thought." She threw her face into her hands hoping no one else would see her in this weak state.

The man's eyes widened slightly, grasping slightly what may have been going on between the two girls, but thinking more that it was a bond more like sisterhood than what it was actually becoming. "Hey now, let's move somewhere a bit more subtle if you're gonna be crying. Don't want people to start asking questions, do we?" He suggested, earning a nod from the girl.

They got up and carried their meals to another table in the far back corner of the building that most people were avoiding. The reason why would be found out by the two later, but for now the resumed their conversation.

"Alright," the man started. "So someone you knew before attacked someone else you really cared about?"

Blake nodded and began speaking again after stifling a few sobs. "I managed to get her away, but when she was safe in the hands of others, I just ran away." She began sobbing again, only to have a hand lay on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"Look, I can relate to how you're feeling right now. I've actually been in a situation much like it before. If it helps, I can tell you something that can make it a little bit easier to cope with." He offered, staring her in the eyes when she lifted her head to face him again.

"Like what?" She asked, hoping the man could at least ease her unrest a little bit.

"I know how it might sound bad at first, but hear me out on it." He said as he held his hands up by his chest, which made Blake feel a bit unsettled, but she let him continue. "When I lost some people close to me I had a bitter hatred to the ones that had taken them from me. Ever since then I started tracking them down and sabotaged their supplies, found and released their dark secrets to the military and government, and even personally disposed of some of the scum." After getting a strange look from the faunus girl he continued. "I know that vendetta doesn't exactly get the people you care about back, nor does it really bring the culprits to proper justice, but it gives you something to vent the feelings on. And I'd be lying if I said it wasn't satisfying."

Blake sat in silence for a minute when he finished, not sure what to think of what he suggested. "I don't know. I mean, sure I hate the guy that did it, but he's still someone I was close with before. I don't know if I could do that."

"It's entirely understandable. Revenge isn't exactly for everyone. It's up to you." He got up and began walking towards the exit, but turned back. "I hope that you feel better about it soon, and that you find your friend again. It was really nice talking to you miss…?" He let it hang, giving Blake the cue to introduce herself.

"Blake, Blake Belladonna." She said after shaking her head to compose herself.

"Until next time Blake. If you ever need help with anything, just ask for the specialist. They'll know who you mean." He said then made his way to leave.

When he started walking away, a group of men dressed in leather jackets and jeans got up from a nearby table and closed in on Blake's table. "Look at what we have here, a poor little girl with some issues." One of them said, a blonde with an honestly handsome face, but Blake could tell he was an asshole already. "So pretty lady, need someone to help forget those problems you got? Maybe over a few drinks at my place?" He said with a smirk. It was stated like a question, but Blake could tell where this really was going.

"I'd rather not. I've got things to do, so I'll be on my wa-" She was stopped by a hand on her chest from the blonde.

"Come on~ I insist. I promise it will make you feel better quick." He gave a slight squeeze on her chest, which earned an immediate kick into his groin from the girl.

Two of the others grabbed her by the arms and held her up. After recomposing himself the leader made for her. "Now that wasn't real nice was it- Ugh!"

Blake gave him a good head-butt to the nose, which in turn let blood trickle down said nose. "Okay, now you've done it." He said as he wiped the blood with his sleeve then gave Blake a solid punch to the gut, earning a wince and knocking the wind out of the her.

A sound of struggle and a sickening crack was head from behind the blonde was heard before a familiar voice was heard. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to hit a girl?" His tone was mocking and made the gang leader turn to see one of his members bleeding from a gash in his forehead from having it smashed into the table they came from.

"And who the fuck are you supposed to be?" The blonde spat at the man that sat with Blake only a minute before. "Her boyfriend or somethin'?"

"No, we've only just met. But I'll tell you, I've already made a much better first impression on the poor girl than you and your lowlife buddies here." He said gesturing to all of the gang members and ending on the man now bleeding on the floor.

"Look man, if you know what's best for you, you'd back off and do whatever the hell you were leaving to do." The leader said as he pulled a switchblade out of his jacket and jabbed it mere centimeters from the man's throat.

When looking at the officer now, Blake realized he was younger than most soldiers. Around her own age even it appeared.

"Actually I already am going to do what I was planning. And that was throwing you scumbags out as a treat for all the Grimm outside the gates." He said as he knocked the blade out of the blonde's hand and kicked him into one of the others who was holding Blake, allowing her to break free from the other's grip.

Two of the gang members helped their leader to his feet, then they all took fighting stances wielding different weapons ranging from the switchblade, crowbars, and baseball bats. One of them even had a .32 revolver.

The soldier helped Blake to her feet and they took their fighting stances. Blake didn't have any weapons on her at all, considering she lost Gambol Shroud during the crisis at Beacon, and the weapons she was supplied with here were back in her apartment. The soldier didn't seem to have any weapons on him either, but he clearly didn't need one.

One of the gang members charged and tried to take a swipe at the soldier with a baseball bat, only for him to duck under it and send a well-placed punch into the man's jaw. He then gripped the bat and bashed the end that the previous owner was using to hold it into his thigh, knocking him to the ground.

Another gang member with a crowbar rounded up on him and attempted to bash his skull in, but the bat swung around and took the brunt of the blow. The soldier head-butted the man which inevitably caused him to lose his grip on the crowbar and letting it fall to the ground.

During all of this time Blake stood back and watched as the soldier was taking down the entire group. Well, all of them but-

"Hello again doll face." The gang's leader managed to sneak behind Blake and had his switchblade placed at her throat. He then whistled, getting the attention of the soldier after he flipped one of the gang members and punched him square in the throat, leaving him gasping for air that would never make it through his crushed airways. "The tables have turned asshole, so here's how this is gonna work out! I'm gonna take this broad with me and you're gonna stay perfectly still where you are, or else I'll slit her throat like a pig right now."

The soldier only stood and glared at the blonde. His glare softened and his eyes flashed before he let a smirk cross his face, then let out a small chuckle. "What's so funny wise guy?!" The leader called out. The soldier simply made a circle motion with his finger, which made the man instinctually look behind him.

There were multiple other soldiers and police surrounding the entire cafeteria and cornering the street gang. The blonde's eyes widened and he pressed the blade closer to Blake's throat and cried out threats to all of the law enforcement. But he was met with a baseball bat to the back of the head from the original soldier, knocking him to the ground and losing his grip on the faunus girl.

The soldier knelt down to the blonde and made direct eye contact. "Looks like the tables have turned," He recited with a smirk. "And here's how this will work out." The other soldiers, police, and even Blake managed to begin laughing as he repeated the gang leader's words. "I'm gonna drag your punk ass, along with all of your buddies here, and throw you all out that gate and make bets with my friends here on how long you'll last before getting torn to shreds…" He stated as he pointed in the direction of the gate outside. This made all of the others laughing, save for Blake, to roar into even more laughter.

Sure they were shitheads, but was that necessary? This line of thought made Blake tug on the soldier's sleeve to get his attention. "You're not really going to be that cruel are you?"

"You didn't let me finish Blake." He said in a hushed tone that only she could hear. Then he stood and got everyone's attention again. "Or~," He drawled on. "You could apologize to this young lady and never repeat this shit again, and not terrorize anyone whatsoever."

The blonde looked up at the soldier with many different emotions on his face. Fear, anger, and relief to name a few.

"And so help me if I catch you punks ever starting shit again, you'll be begging for the first option I gave. Got it?" He said as he stared down the sorry excuse for a gang leader.

"Y-yes sir." He sputtered then tried to get up. After remaining silent for a moment he turned towards Blake. "I'm sorry for the trouble me and the boys caused. It won't happen again, I swear." After giving the apology he turned to face the soldier with a look of absolute fear for his own life.

"Now get out of my sight rat." The soldier said with a flick of his head towards the door.

The entire gang ran for the exit at their top speed and faded out the doors, not to be seen the rest of the day. After staring out the door Blake turned to her rescuer.

"Thanks… For everything." She said as a small smile formed.

"No worries Blake, I've never liked those scumbags anyway. Honestly I would've been pretty happy to throw them out for good. Make an example of 'em."

"Well I'm glad you didn't. Also, thanks for the talk earlier. It felt nice to get that off my chest." The soldier raised an eyebrow slightly. "And I was thinking about what you said earlier. Maybe you were right."

"Oh?" He said with his eyebrow raising slightly more. "Well I'm glad I could help. If you need anything else just let me know. I'd be happy to lend a hand."

"Actually you can help," She said immediately after he finished. "I need some spare food for a good amount of days. I'm going to head out into Vale."

"Well I can see to it that you'll be stocked well. I'll even get you some extra ammunition for your weapons as well if you'd like." He said as he walked her towards the counter for the cafeteria and told the worker there to get a large amount of MREs for Blake. The boy behind the counter walked into the back with reluctance.

"By the way, I would offer to join you, but sadly I have other matters to attend to." The soldier stated after turning to Blake while they were waiting for the food packages.

"It's fine, I'm sure I'll manage just fine." She waved him off. "What would those other matters be, if you don't mind me asking?"

"The exact details are classified. But I can say that it's a very important investigation." He responded, making it obvious that he couldn't tell her what his objectives were.

"That's fair. Thanks for the help you've given me. Maybe we'll meet again someday and I can repay you." The girl offered with a smile.

"That won't be necessary, but I would look forward to meeting again." He pulled out a notepad and began writing on it, then tore the slip and handed it to her. "Give that to the quartermaster and he'll get you the extra ammo you need. Until next time Miss Belladonna." He bowed and made to take his leave.

Blake shouted after him, which in turn made the man look back at her with his foot halfway through the door. "What's your name; in case I ever need your help again?"

After a moment of thought the soldier smiled. "Just get in contact with Vale's Air Force, then ask for Colonel Valenwood." And with that he made his leave for good.

Blake looked over the note the colonel left her until the boy behind the counter returned with the packages. "Will this be everything ma'am?" He asked. Blake simply nodded and took the large plastic bag that was filled with various MREs.

 _'_ _This is really going to happen.'_ Blake thought to herself as she was walking towards the exit. _'I'm going to find Adam, and I'm going to make him pay for what he did to Yang'_

As the group made their way through the forest there was small talk among them all. Most of it being everyone, except for Qrow and Harkness, coming up with theories about the newest member of their impromptu militia. The duo was walking a distance farther than the rest so they couldn't exactly make out the group's whisperings, but it did still bug Harkness.

Ruby eventually broke off from the group and began walking next to the new member and her uncle. "So~," She started as she turned slightly to address Harkness. "Why were you out here looking for my uncle?"

"Classified." He stated bluntly without even looking in her direction.

"Oh… Well, what do you do? Do you attend a Huntsman academy?" She asked, trying to learn a little bit about the newcomer.

"I'm currently serving in Vale's Air Force." He started, earning a surprised look from Ruby and the others behind them. "I'm primarily a special operative, but do some aircraft maintenance on the side. I'm also checking into becoming a pilot."

"That's… Pretty cool actually. But don't you have to be eighteen to join the military?" Ruby asked, confused by the concept. She knew that he was older than her, but he definitely wasn't a legal adult quite yet.

"Well, let's just say Ozpin has connections, and can be very persuasive." He replied, this time turning to face the girl.

Now she was even more confused. Harkness somehow knew Ozpin, but in all her time at Beacon, she'd never seen the teen there. "How do you know Ozpin anyway?"

The soldier remained silent for a moment and turned his gaze away from her slightly. "It's… A bit of a rough topic. I'm not sure if I'm comfortable sharing it with you quite yet."

"Oh, that's fair I guess." Ruby said as she slumped a bit.

"Don't worry Ruby, I'm sure he'll open up to you eventually." Qrow said as he leaned forward so he could be seen past Harkness. "Who knows, maybe you'll even become besties." He finished with a smirk, then leaned closer to whisper to Harkness. "Or maybe even better…"

Harkness shoved Qrow a good couple feet, earning more laughter from the Huntsman. "Hold your tongue old man. Eventually it'll be the death of you."

"Oh lighten up kid, I'm just messin' with ya." Qrow then ruffled the boy's hair, earning a grunt from him.

Ruby couldn't help but giggle at the two fighting each other. They honestly looked like they've known each other their whole lives, which she knew wasn't the case, but damn did it seem like it.

The rays of the sun were beginning to lose their power as the ball of fire began to slowly sink below the tree line.

"Well everyone, I think we should set up camp for the night." Qrow stated, earning a simultaneous nod from the rest. "Harkness, get a fire set up, Ruby and Nora, set up the bedrolls, Juane and Ren, go collect some extra firewood, and I'll start on our dinner."

Everyone went to work immediately without question. Harkness grabbed a few rocks and arranged them in a circle then threw a few logs in the middle. He then flew his left hand over his thigh. The disc glowed and created the wire frame of a flint and steel.

Ruby set up the bedrolls quickly, tapping into her semblance to set up all of the beds in a matter of seconds. She placed her hands on her hips in a heroic pose and a confident grin grew across her lips, earning a glare from Nora for taking all the work.

As Harkness got a fire to slowly begin to grow from a small cinder into a textbook campfire, he noticed that Qrow was staring at a can of baked beans with a slightly disappointed look.

"Hey Qrow, there's still a little bit of daylight left. We could have a couple of us go hunt for something fresh. Or at least something better than some baked beans." He suggested earning a look of relief from the man and a look of excitement from the two girls.

"You really think we can do that? That would be great! No more baked beans for life!" Nora exclaimed with a raised fist and her foot resting on a boulder.

Harkness chuckled at the display then looked to Qrow. "So, I think it's obvious I'm going. Who do you think should come with?"

Qrow began stroking his chin, then smirked after a moment. "How about-"

"I'll go!" Ruby shouted as she jumped up with her hand raised excitedly like an elementary student.

After a moment of looking over Ruby he conceded. "I don't see the harm in it. Let's go Ruby." The soldier said as he rose from the campfire, trying to make it appear he wasn't paying attention to the girl bouncing around the camp exuberantly. "Maybe I can teach you some basics about tracking while we're out there."

"Yeah! That sounds great, let's head out!" Ruby shouted as she gripped Harkness by the arm and practically dragged him out into the woods.

The whole scene left Qrow laughing until his sides hurt, but he stopped as he realized the expression on Nora's face. "What's got you beat kid?"

"I didn't even do anything! Ruby got all the beds set up using her ridiculous speed, and now she's going out hunting?!" She stood there with an almost visible line of steam rising from her head.

Qrow pondered for a moment, trying to find a way to cheer up the Valkyrie girl. Then he came up with an idea with a snap of his fingers. "How about we scan the perimeter for Grimm?"

Nora immediately broke into a grin and pulled out trusty Magnhild. "Let's do this!"

A/N:

So we got a look at what Blake's been up to and what she's getting into. Like I said earlier I ended up losing this entire chapter originally, but I personally am glad it happened because it ended up giving me a better idea for the Blake portion. Originally there wasn't the whole fight scene there or the soldier giving Blake some advice, leaving her to have originally just decided to take the path on her own, which in all honesty seemed out of character for her to me.

There were also a couple minor changes in the portion involving Ruby and the others, one of the changes being Qrow teasing Harkness again. The reason the two of them act the way they do with each other will be shown later on, so stay tuned.

Also this set up what I personally think is a beautiful scene coming up, so I can't wait to see your opinions when it comes!

Thanks to everyone sticking around! Feel free to write a review, favorite, and/or follow, and I'll see you all soon!

EDIT: So I actually have been working on this fic for a while now and have only began posting it today. There is a total of 9 chapters completed already, which I will be pumping out over the next few days. Chapter 10 will be when you all are caught up with me and will have to wait for the whole bi-weekly deal I originally mentioned.

Also at this point Volume 4 is a mere two days away, and I'll tell you right now, I am hyped beyond belief right now lol! The World of Remnant videos that RT have been posting over the past few days have only been adding to that hype and now I'm pretty much at the point of exploding from the overload of excitement.

My goal is to still try my best to stick with the show as best as possible, especially when it comes to lore. What can I say, I'm a lore-whore XD


	3. Chapter 3

A/N:

Chapter three, woot woot! I'm excited that we're moving along here. Still having a ton of fun with this too!

This chapter will give that little bit of White Rose I mentioned including earlier in chapter one. I want you to give me your opinions on how I did with it. I need your feedback right now so I know what I can do better or more differently.

Now, back to the story!

 _Two days ago..._

Yang was awoken from her fitful slumber by her father. Yang had never known her father to look this worried in her entire life.

"Yang get up, Ruby's gone!" Was the only thing he said before he left her room to get himself dressed and ready to leave.

The brawler slowly rose from her bed, and for the first time in weeks, showed emotion. She had a look of worry on her face, fearful as to what could have happened to her sister. One of the biggest thoughts that came to mind was how Yang treated Ruby when she finally woke up from her coma. Yang was immediately hit with guilt as she thought she may very well be responsible for Ruby to have left.

She ran to her closet and threw on her clothes as best she could with her one good arm as fast as possible. When her father returned they were both fully clothed and ready to leave. They hopped into Taiyang's car and drove off.

The ink on the Ruby's note was still somewhat fresh when Taiyang found it when he woke up. With this he knew that Ruby couldn't have gotten too terribly far, especially considering all of their vehicles were still at their house.

"How did you find out she left dad?" Yang asked.

"I went to her room to check on her before I made breakfast, but she wasn't there. I just assumed that she was already up and making herself something but found the kitchen empty, apart from the note on the table she left." He responded.

"I can't believe she would just leave like that. That's more of my style, not hers." Yang said looking down at her lap.

Taiyang gave her a clap on the shoulder while keeping his other hand on the wheel. "We'll find her. I know we will. It's just a matter of catching up to her."

Taiyang followed the footprints in the snow left by the group of teens mere hours earlier.

"You think they got very far?" Yang asked more worried than her father was at this point.

"Not really. They seem to be on foot, and Ruby's note looked like it was made somewhat recently, so they might be close enough for us to catch up fairly quickly, especially considering we've got the car." Her father replied. Just like some cruel twist of fate, after Taiyang finished his statement the tracks from the teens turned away from the road and into the woods. "Well shit." Taiyang muttered under his breath.

"I guess I could use the exercise?" Yang muttered while scratching the back of her head with her hand, to which her father grew a slight smirk.

They got out of the car and began trekking through the woods.

 _'I hope she hasn't gotten herself hurt'_ Yang thought to herself as they walked. _'I don't know what I'd do if I lost her now.'_

The duo walked through the woods at a fast pace following the tracks of their target.

 _Current time..._

The heiress hated these walls that enclosed her. She hated the hallways she walks through. She hated the dining hall she has all of her meals in. She hated this entire damned building.

She would call it a mansion, but castle is a word that comes to mind better when anyone sets their eyes on the structure. Weiss hated the way that walking into the Schnee estate sent a chill through her body, something typically unfitting for her.

When her father picked her up from Beacon he was outraged. She had been ignoring him since she left for Beacon, and now that she still ignored him after the shit-storm there sent even more anger surging through him.

He and Weiss have hardly made any interaction with one another the last two weeks apart from a glare on occasion. Weiss always hated her father, but now that she had spent time with people outside of the ice cold Schnee dynasty she hated her family even more so.

Her team at Beacon and all of the others she called acquaintances, whereas Ruby would call them friends, had all opened Weiss's eyes to the world and she has seen it in an entirely different way than when she had when she entered Beacon on her first day.

Thinking of that day brought back all of the memories of the strange way it went. How she met the dolt that nearly blew them off the face of Remnant, running into her again constantly that day, and how the blonde and the girl with the black bow defended the dolt.

Thinking of this day brought a slight smile to Weiss's lips, which she quickly wiped away, knowing that she wasn't alone in the dining room. Her father sat at the head of the table, with Weiss's mother on his left, and Winter on his right.

Weiss's sister and mother were the only two people in the Schnee dynasty she didn't hate. Her mother was actually considerably kind and caring; At least, she is when her husband isn't around. And Winter; Weiss had always looked up to her. She was her role model, and Weiss had always wanted to be like her while the heiress was a child.

She still shares respect with her sister and mother considering they are the closest people in the family to being good. Her father, and many other cousins, uncles, and aunts on the other hand were a completely different story.

The dinner went by in silence as it typically did from what Weiss remembered. When the heiress finished her meal she excused herself from the table and went to her bedroom. Once there she sat on her bed and continued to think about her first day at Beacon.

She was so irritated by the girl with the red hood that day, and went on a tangent when Ruby Rose was declared the leader of Team RWBY and not the heiress herself.

But as the year drew on, Weiss came to respect Ruby. She still irked Weiss constantly with her childish nature, but the heiress does have to admit, Ruby is rather cute most of that time.

Weiss thinking of Ruby as cute made her cheeks feel warmer and she felt a strange sensation in her gut at the same time. She brushed away the thoughts of Ruby and both feelings went away. Weiss was confused as to why she felt so strange when the thought of Ruby. Then she had an idea.

She thought of Ruby again, and once more the feelings came back. It felt nice to be honest. She had never really felt this way before. Then it hit her like a truck... She had unknowingly developed a crush for the Rose girl.

Weiss Schnee, the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, a high class woman raised to be as cold as the northern seas during winter, had fallen for a childish little girl who irritated the living shit out of her.

The sudden realization made the girl gasp and lose her balance, luckily she caught herself on her dresser. Taking deep breaths, she looked up at her reflection in the mirror above said dresser. She stared down the girl in the mirror for a long time, then eventually broke the silence.

"I can't believe that _you_ of all people would fall for that girl!" She scolded her reflection. "What would everyone think if they found out? I don't even want to imagine what father would do." She glanced away and looked at her bed.

Some vulgar thoughts came to mind as she looked at said bed, thoughts about how cute Ruby would look laying in it without any...

"NO!" Weiss shouted at herself, shaking her head. "Don't be so lewd Weiss, you're better than that."

She opened her dresser and pulled out her nightgown. As she undressed and pulled on the sleepwear the Schnee girl walked over to her bed. She lied down and attempted to let sleep take her. It did eventually... After some time of thinking about Ruby Rose lying next to her.

A/N:

So, how'd I do? Did I do well or is there room for improvement? Let me know! And yes, it was a shorter chapter this time. Once again, setting up for more stuff coming in the future.

Also in the last chapter Harkness let Ruby know of his interest in aviation. Well I'm just letting y'all know that that is one of the things that my OC and I share, along with a few more that will make appearances later in the story. I know most people base OCs on themselves, or just create some random one. I'm somewhere in between. I'm including some things of myself in Harkness like my interest in aviation, becoming a pilot, and more to come in the story that I won't mention now. I will mention in the author's note at the end whenever I showed something in Harkness that is also something I do or intend to do.

And once again thank you to everyone that's still reading! Feel free to give me feedback, review, favorite, and/or follow.

Enjoy yourselves :)

-GG


	4. Chapter 4

Ruby and Harkness are taking a stroll through the woods. It's been about ten minutes since they had split up from the others to hunt for some fresh food. "Hey Ruby, check this out." Harkness said as he crouched down, beckoning Ruby to his side. She walked over and knelt next to him. There was a small cloud of dirt floating mere inches off the surface of the ground.

"What's going on?" She asked, not sure why he called her over.

"Take a look at the ground here." Was his response. "What do you see?"

"A bunch of kicked up dirt? What's that have to do with anything?" She realized what he was getting at the second she finished her question, immediately feeling foolish.

"That means something was here to kick the dirt up. And that they're still close." He stood and began looking at the ground around them until he found exactly what he was looking for.

"This way." He said and then began moving through the bushes the hoofed footprints were pointing towards.

Ruby followed him as best she could, trying to swat branches in her path and not lose sight of the soldier. He eventually stopped when they came upon a clearing. In said clearing stood they're target, a full grown female deer.

Harkness reached his hands to his back and his storage device built up a bow in his left hand and an arrow in his right. The soldier put the arrow to the string and pulled it back, ready to release the arrow and pierce the heart of the animal, but he stopped.

With the pressure building up on the bow he eventually slowly drew the arrow forward and sheathed the weapon earning a confused look from Ruby.

"What are you doing?! It's right there!" She whispered while also raising her voice slightly.

"And so is its child." He said lifting his hand to point at the delicate creature and it's young.

Ruby had not seen such beauty before. There was the mother doe and her calf nuzzling noses in the clearing and beginning to lay down. The duo of hunters sat and watched the mother and child lay in the open field; The sun was at the perfect angle to cast a radiant light across the glade. The sight was truly textbook for a beautiful painting, that sadly, no one would be able to create.

"It would be cruel to kill her here. It's such a serene setting. Pristine even, I wouldn't want to ruin it." Harkness said bringing Ruby's attention back to him.

"Yeah. It's so beautiful, why even bother?"

"Exactly. Come on, we can look for another deer somewhere else." Harkness said slowly backing away from the scene.

"Sure thing, just one second!" Ruby whisper-shouted again making him stop. Ruby pulled out her scroll and turned it sideways, snapping a picture of the two beauties of nature nuzzling into each other falling asleep together. "Alright, I'm good."

The two left the area and began searching for more tracks. It wasn't long before Harkness picked up another trail.

"You know what, I'll let you take the lead this time. But first," He stopped and looked at a stone and branch that caught his eye. "We've got to get you a bow."

"Can't I just use the one you pulled out earlier?"

"No, I'm going to teach you how to make one from what we have here. I hope you'll never get stuck in a situation that requires basic survival skills, but I'd like to teach you with the chance that you might need them eventually." Harkness said with a stern look on his face.

"Really? Why? I mean, it's nice and all, but why?" Ruby asked.

"Because I know that a huntress might get stuck in bad situations in the field, and I'd not want to hear that the niece of my godfather died because she didn't know how to keep herself alive in the wilderness."

This was true, but he had other reasons as well, but he would not give her any indication that there was any reason but the one he gave her.

"That's fair I guess." Ruby responded. "Thanks Harkness."

"Don't thank me yet, we haven't even started."

So he began teaching her how to weave a bowstring from leaves. It wasn't as durable as most bowstrings, but it would get the job done.

Next he showed her how to pick a proper branch to use for the bow's body and how to get the string wrapped around it. The branch they used was perfectly flexible enough to bend slightly with the string, yet strong enough not to snap when trying to shoot. Then he showed her how to carve sticks into arrows using the sharp stone he saw earlier. They also made a quiver from more leaves to store the extra arrows.

Now Harkness let Ruby lead on the trail from the animal they were tracking. She followed it well, soon finding the target. It was also a deer, but this time a full grown buck.

"Alright, all of that effort has led up to this moment Ruby. Now you just have to take the shot. Have you ever used a bow before?" Harkness asked in a low voice, as to not alert their prey of the hunters' presence.

Ruby had used a bow in her basic training at Signal Academy, but that was years ago, and she hardly remembered how to use a bow properly anymore.

"I did in combat school, but that was a while ago. I don't think I can anymore."

"Alright, then I'll help you." Harkness got behind Ruby and set her arms in the proper positions. Ruby let out a small yelp at Harkness's first contact, earning a quick apology from him. He set her fingers to hold the arrow properly and steady.

"Now, pull back slowly and take aim. Make sure you aim a little above him since we're a good distance away." Harkness advised.

Ruby took a breath and did as he said. After a few moments of silence, she let the arrow loose and it pierced the buck through its chest, knocking it to the ground, leaving it still alive but heavily wounded.

"Good shot." Harkness said as he stood up and walked over to the creature. He moved a hand over the plate on his right thigh and a knife materialized itself in his hand.

Harkness began speaking to the wounded animal, but not in any language Ruby knew of; It sounded like something she never heard before. On his final phrase he plunged the knife into the animal's neck then twisted it, instantly putting the creature out of its suffering.

Harkness then picked up the carcass and slung it over his shoulders, surprising Ruby at his strength for his age. Then she remembered he was in the military.

Sure Ruby was able to swing Crescent Rose around like nothing, but it was made of lightweight materials and she had spent years learning how to use the scythes properly for combat. After a few minutes of walking back towards the camp Ruby began speaking again. "Hey Harkness."

"Yes Ruby?"

"What was that back there? With the whole... You know, other language thing?"

"It's tradition for hunting in the village I came from when I was younger." He looked away after saying this.

"Oh, sorry for bringing that up." Ruby immediately felt as if she were treading on bad grounds for the soldier. Qrow had mentioned to her when they were alone to not ask about Harkness's home.

"No, it's fine. Hunting was one of the last things I got to do with my father, so it actually brings back some good memories." Harkness said turning back to Ruby, making her feel reassured that she hadn't brought the teen too much pain.

"Did your father teach you to hunt?" Ruby prodded, curious of the boy's relationship with his father.

"Yeah, he also taught me all I know about survival. Of course the military covered it too, but it was more or less review for me at that point."

"I'm just curious, what does your dad think of you being in the military so young?"

Now she crossed a line. The look of pain on Harkness's face made that as clear as day. She knew that look, for it is one that she had borne once before.

"I'm _soooo_ sorry, I had no idea!" Ruby apologized almost immediately.

Harkness just walked in silence, looking dead ahead of him. They continued in this silence for what felt like hours, when in all actuality it was probably only about five to ten minutes.

"I'd hope he'd be proud." Harkness's said out of the blue. His sudden statement made Ruby jump with a yelp.

"I think he would." Ruby responded after recollecting herself. "I don't know one dad who wasn't proud of their son joining the armed forces. It gives a kind of respect that can't be earned in many other ways between a father and son."

"True." Harkness agreed.

"Plus, your dad sounds like a pretty cool guy, so I'm sure he'd be proud of you no matter what you did!" Ruby said enthusiastically.

Harkness chuckled slightly, and seemed to have a lone tear run down his cheek. "You have no idea how right you are."

They walked in silence the rest of the way to the camp, this time being more peaceful rather than awkward.

The rest of the group was sitting around the campfire conversing when the hunting duo returned.

When Qrow saw the two and the game they had caught he let out a moderately long whistle. "That's one hell of a beauty you caught there. And I don't mean my niece." He let out a smirk.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby yelled at him with her cheeks gaining a slight red hue to them. "Nothing like that happened." She looked away with a pout and crossed arms after defending herself.

"Qrow, you are one dirty old man." Harkness said with a small chuckle.

"C'mon man was that extra bit really necessary?" Juane asked the Huntsman, earning a shrug from the man in question.

"Anyway, I still have to prep the meal here so I'll go do that." Harkness said walking away from the group.

"Where are you going?" Ruby asked.

"Well, gutting an animal for its meat isn't exactly the most pleasant sight now is it?" He responded.

Ruby gagged a bit. "Good point, forget I asked."

And with that Harkness walked away from the camp to harvest the edible parts from the deer. After a while he came back with the parts that could be eaten. He then began cooking the venison over the fire for everyone. There was a good bit to go around.

The group chowed down on the meal, with the original five being grateful they didn't have to eat some old canned beans again.

"Thanks Harkness for getting us the great meal. It's nice to have real food for a change." Ren said.

"Actually I wasn't the one who got it." He paused and cast a look in Ruby's direction. "Ruby here was."

The party was silent for a few moments; Everyone, apart from Harkness and Ruby, being surprised that the most innocent person they knew had hunted down and killed a deer, one of the most peaceful animals that comes to mind.

"Um, guys? Why are you looking at me like that?" Ruby asked worriedly.

Juane was the first to regain his senses. "It's nothing, just, I guess we never expected you to kill an animal like that."

"Give the girl a break." Harkness spoke up. "At least she did something to contribute to the group apart from just sitting up at night 'guarding us' from dangers that haven't even showed up since Qrow and I came in and saved your asses. So shut up and eat the rest of your food." He left the last sentence with an aggravated tone.

Everyone there was shocked at Harkness's outburst. The whole thing wasn't a big deal in all actuality, but he acted out like it was. Qrow was used to seeing Harkness have random outbursts of rage and panic attacks, but he felt there was more to it here, which raised some questions in his mind.

Harkness took a step back, then turned towards the woods and ran after he realized he took the whole issue farther than he needed to.

"Wait!" Ruby got up to follow him and tell him everything was fine, but she was immediately sat back down by Juane.

"Don't worry about it Ruby, I'll talk to him."

Ruby at first thought that Juane was going to get into a fight with the other teen, but with the way his voice sounded and the calm look on his face, she realized that wasn't the case.

Juane walked into the woods the same direction Harkness did to have a talk.

A/N:

So, stuff is kicking up again!

I loved making the hunting scene between Harkness and Ruby here, and I personally think the whole doe and her child bit was just beautiful, but let me know what you think.

Also the whole thing about Harkness talking in another language to the deer that they killed will be explained further in the story, and I can't wait to get that out there! Just to give some context on how it would've sounded I'll give a hint: It's from a country that is part of Asia. Send me your predictions if you feel like it, maybe I'll give the first few who get it right a shout-out.

I just have to say once again how grateful I am to everyone continuing to read this story. I'm really enjoying it and am working on getting certain blank spots in the plot to be filled in, so stay tuned!

Feel free to review, favorite and/or follow, and have a nice day!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N:

So I may or may not have come across some leaked footage of the Volume 4 trailer recently. And I've gotta say, I'm excited. Looks like it's starting off a bit differently than I predicted for this story, but since its already in the works I suppose it is too late to make the story follow a more similar path to the actual RWBY story line from now on, but I will do my best to include stuff from Volume 4 (when it does start up again) as best I can if it fits in.

And before anyone asks, no I do not intend on putting in a scene that replicates the volume 4 trailer. This is for multiple reasons. First, it's kind of a douche bag move in my opinion because only people at the RTX panel were supposed to see it. Second, it would not feel right copying the beautiful work from Rooster Teeth. I would like everything in my story to be as original as possible. Third, if I were to do it (most likely only if it was highly requested by you guys) I would wait until the trailer is released to the public. And lastly is of course there could possibly be legal action taken against me if I put it in before the trailer's public release, which is not what I need right now.

Anyway, with all that aside, I give you the next chapter. Enjoy!

Juane walked through the woods until he eventually found Harkness staring off into a valley from a cliff. He was standing in what Juane could only assume was a military stance, with his hands folded behind his back and legs spaced apart slightly.

He approached the soldier slowly and began to speak as he walked.

"Harkness what happened back there?" His voice had no shred of anger or any other emotion that Harkness expected. It was a sincere question and he seemed worried even.

"It's... Nothing about you. I just got overly defensive." Harkness answered, never taking his gaze off of the valley.

"There has to be more to it than that. I know there is. Look, if you can tell me what's wrong we can do our best to help out." Juane offered. Harkness turned slightly, but then returned to gazing upon the beautiful view before him.

"Juane, I appreciate the offer for help, but the things that trouble me can't be fixed that easily." He took a breath afterwards. "I'm sorry about blowing up on you back there." He now turned around fully and faced Juane.

"It's fine, I know that the context of how I talked to Ruby back there could be taken wrong, you were just defending Ruby. You were being a good friend to her."

Harkness moved his eyes from Juane to the forest. "I don't think she would call me a friend. I've never really been that great with people for the last seven years, and probably won't be for the rest of my life. I've seen things in my time on this world. Things a poor kid should never see." He looked back at Juane. "And don't even bother asking what, it's not something I like to talk about."

"I understand." Juane said putting his hands up in front of his chest and moving them in a pushing motion. "But seriously, Ruby does think of you as a friend. Maybe not as close as me or the others, and that you might be a strange guy at times, but a friend nonetheless."

"Why? Why would she even have any interest in me? We've only just met a day ago."

"That's just how Ruby is man. She loves to make new friends, even if they aren't the greatest of people sometimes." Harkness gave Juane a glare. "Not that I'm implying anything about you there!" Juane instantly attempted to fix his statement while waving his hands in front of him.

Harkness's glare softened after that and he returned to staring into the valley once more.

"Are you just gonna look at that pit all day?" Juane asked in a concerned tone.

"I was planning on that until I was finished calming down, yes. I'd prefer to be left alone right now."

"What's so special about that valley that you'd be sitting here alone in the cold and not with us by the fire?"

"Nothing. It's just a nice scene. Plus, that village gives me a bit of nostalgia."

"Village? What village?"

"Look for the lights." Harkness said pointing into the distance.

"Oh, I didn't see that before. Why does it give you nostalgia?"

"It looks a lot like the village I grew up in." Harkness looked down at his feet after saying this. "Not all the memories are good though. Maybe I _should_ get a change in scenery."

"Come on back to the camp. I'm sure everyone will welcome you back with open arms." Juane suggested while gesturing towards the campsite.

"Sure, I feel a little better now anyway. Talking actually helped." Harkness turned back towards Juane. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now come on, everyone else seemed a bit anxious when you left."

With that the two walked back to the camp and rejoined the others. Soon after everyone began to lay down while Qrow took first watch.

The streets of Vale have a different atmosphere walking down them now. Where you would once have seen sidewalks teeming with people going every which way fulfilling their daily routine, there is now just emptiness. The scene made Blake think of it being a setup for some post-apocalyptic movie. Sadly, it was all reality.

Blake has no real leads on how to find Adam, but she figured she could investigate previously used buildings by the White Fang, and any possible location they could be using now. From there she would infiltrate any of the compounds and look for anything that could lead her to her target.

Thinking of her plan made Blake unaware of her surroundings as she now saw a pack of beowolves scouring the streets she was walking through. They hadn't seen her yet so she jumped behind the nearest cover she could find.

Having lost Gambol Shroud, she is currently using basic weapons you would find the police using. However, the G-18 felt comfortable for her considering it was pretty much the same as the gun form of her beloved weapon.

While she liked the sidearm, she wasn't as fond of the melee weapon supplied to her, a folding police baton. Blake had always preferred a blade over blunt weapons, but it was the best that she could get at the safe haven that wasn't a knife.

Now she had to sneak her way past this group of beasts. She looked around for an avenue of escape and found a fire escape in an alley close to her that led to the rooftops.

She peeked around the bus stop she was hiding behind and saw the beowolves were closer. Anytime now they would pick up her scent, but none were looking in the direction of the escape route.

With that Blake silently ran across the small gap and used a dumpster to propel herself high enough to catch onto the fire escape. The dumpster let out a loud crash as she did so, alerting the Grimm of her presence.

She quickly began to climb, knowing the foolish mistake she had made. She was almost entirely over but then felt pain fill her lower left leg and let out a scream. Upon looking back, she saw a Beowolf latching onto her leg, digging its claws into her flesh.

She was pulled back slightly but held onto the metal scaffolding. She pulled out the folding baton that she was given by the police at the camp she was residing in and started bashing the beast's face with it. Eventually the creature's skull caved in from the trauma and its corpse fell, tearing a portion of Blake's flesh with it.

She climbed up the fire escape and onto the rooftops. Sadly, she wasn't safe enough to patch up her leg yet, so she began a limping run away from the area she was in.

She later looked back to see that some of the Grimm had managed to get onto the roofs as well and knew she couldn't outrun them in her current state. So she turned around and pulled the baton out once more. She would use the Glock, but it would only bring more attention to her, and that is something Blake doesn't need.

As a beowolf jumped to take a swipe at her, Blake left a shadow clone in her place and slid on the ground underneath the creature and bashed one of its knees backwards. She then kicked into a jump with her good leg and bashed it in the head, knocking it out instantly from the gravity adding extra force into the blow.

She then dodged another swipe from the other beowolf charging at her, and swung at its elbow, earning a crack and howl of pain from the beast as it's arm was bent the opposite way. She then attacked its legs knocking it to the ground then bashed its skull in.

Now that they were out of the picture she ran across the rooftops until she could tell she was safe. There was a trail of blood following her the entire way and she began feeling light headed from blood loss, forgetting the massive gashes on her left leg in the fight.

She sat down and pulled out a first aid kit from her backpack and started to clean the wound then used bandages to protect from them exposure and to stem the bleeding. Her aura could do the rest of the healing over the next couple days.

Blake got back up and shambled across the rooftops until she felt she was no longer being hunted down.

 _'Looks like the coast is clear'_ she thought to herself and began looking for a safe spot to rest. Aura does heal wounds much better while sleeping after all.

Her eyes scanned the surrounding area until she spotted an apartment with one of its windows broken, leaving her an entry point. Blake worked her way to the window and slipped in unnoticed by the various Grimm crawling through the streets.

She did a quick patrol of the inside of the apartment and found she was alone. There was a wardrobe she could push to block the window, which is exactly what she did, and a bed she could sleep on, providing the perfect setup for her to heal.

Blake dug into her pack once again to pull out one of the MREs she got from the cafeteria at the haven and cooked it on the stove, which surprisingly still worked. As she ate her meal, she pondered over what she could do to get any leads on the White Fang.

She had no real leads, but with her experience from her time within the organization she knew of ways to find them. There were certain ways that the Fang left hidden messages to point faunus in the right direction to find a rally to be recruited in. Hidden messages using graffiti were one of the most common methods, so Blake could keep her eye out for those.

The White Fang had many locations scattered throughout Vale alone for new recruits to sign up, so she was sure she could find one soon. With her finalizing her plan of tracking down a rally, Blake set off to bed to rest and hopefully heal her wound enough to not be limping anymore.

Sleep took a while to finally overtake her due to the pain in her leg, but it eventually came. Right as the black cat fell asleep though, she had an idea of a new objective to add to her list.

A/N:

Once again I apologize if this chapter wasn't all that exciting, and fairly short. We're still building up for more plot points in this arc, so you'll have to bear with me here.

Also I'd like to once again thank everyone still reading, you guys help me drive through this story much better than if I didn't have all of you. Y'all are awesome!

I hope you're still enjoying this, feel free to leave a review, follow, and/or favorite.


	6. Chapter 6: Bittersweet Memories

A/N:

Just a heads up, things get pretty intense and even a little bit gruesome up ahead.

Just a warning to those who are faint of heart, things will get a little bit dark here. But let's be honest, what were we expecting in this universe after Volume 3, right?

Something I probably should've done in an earlier chapter is cover some of my writing techniques that I use to describe a scene so we hopefully don't get much confusion, so here we go.

Anything that is italicized and in between two apostrophes is a thought. Anything with this squiggly thingy ~ means it's being drawled on, rather than just continuing an infinite letter (E.G. So~ instead of Soooooooooo). Anything italicized that isn't in between apostrophes is meant to add more emphasis to the word italicized. And as of now this next one is the last. I will be implementing another language in this fic later on, and if you're worrying about pronunciation, they will be in the A/N at the end of the chapter (this will only happen when the word is first shown, not every time it is used).

Also, it's a pretty long chapter, so be prepared for a massive wall of text (Sorry XD).

Enjoy!

"Hawkness! Wake up Hawkness!"

Shaken by the arm and having those words repeatedly shouted in his face, Harkness awoke in his usual pattern. Having this adorable little girl wailing inches away from his face for her beloved brother to get out of bed.

After sitting up groggily, still trying to get the sleep out of his eyes, Harkness couldn't help but smile at his little sister never failing to have an exuberant amount of energy. He also noted how cute it was that she still couldn't wrap her head around how to say his name properly. It doesn't bother him in any way though. In fact, he prefers it from her; It being yet another trait making her even more innocent.

"Come ooOOOn~! We have to see the play today!" The little girl continued, grabbing his hand and trying to pull him out of bed with all her weight, but to no avail.

"Alright, alright I'm up." Harkness chuckled as he stood. "We still have to get some food and clothes on Sara. Besides, the show doesn't start until the evening."

His sister let go of his hand and folded her arms, while jutting out her lower lip into a pout.

"But I wanna see it now!"

Harkness laughed yet again. "You'll just have to wait sweet pea. Let's go get something to eat."

His sister let out a little grunt but followed along anyway. They made their way to the kitchen and Harkness began pouring a bowl of cereal for each of them. Harkness was just high enough to climb onto the counter to reach the cupboard containing the stereotypical breakfast. He was never the tallest kid in his village, but that never stopped him from getting creative.

Upon setting the bowl of sugary grain and milk in front of her, she let out a smile and dug in, consuming the sweet taste immediately, shoveling spoonful after spoonful of the chocolate rice puffs and marshmallows into her mouth.

The duo ate their fill of sugar and milk then sat on the couch and turned on the television. They sat and watched cartoons until their parents came down the stairs for their own first meal of the day. The adults of the household weren't surprised to see the kids already up and deeply into a cartoon starring a group of teens solving mysteries. It wasn't Harkness's favorite show, but he was fine by it, especially since his little sister loved it. She always tried to be one step ahead of the kids in the show, but was usually one step behind.

"Alright kids, you'd better get dressed. We're gonna be running some errands before we head out to see the show." The father spoke once he came out of the kitchen/dining room.

While Harkness got up from the sofa, Sara sank in deeper, once again pouting.

"Come on honey, it's not that bad. We're going to have some fun too, I promise. We'll make a game out of it, then we can head to the park until the evening." The mother tried to reassure the child.

At this she got up and smiled. "Okie dokie." She put her hand to her forehead in a salute. "Private Sara reporting for duty!"

Due to her brother's interest in the military she naturally tries to copy him. Even if she didn't necessarily know what a private, colonel, or general was. Harkness began walking to the stairs to get changed, but was stopped when his father put a hand on his shoulder.

"While your mother and sister are out getting our harvest for tonight's dinner I figured we could do some more training." The elder man suggested.

He wasn't old, but he wasn't young either. He was pushing into his early forties, and had some graying hairs mixed into his brown. He had the general facial structure that Harkness would later grow into, along with the same steel eyes.

Harkness's father was not only a local farmer for their village, but one of the highest ranking town guards and hunters as well. Not a hunter as in the Grimm slayers, but the kind that would track and kill animals to feed his community. He trained Harkness how to fight and hunt every bit of free time they had when they weren't working on the farm or spending time with the rest of the family.

"Sounds good Dad," Harkness replied with a smile. "Should I change into my training gear then?"

"If you'd like, but I wouldn't recommend it. Remember we still have to work in the fields." His father answered with a smirk and shake of the finger.

"Of course. I'll just get into the usual work clothes then." Harkness replied as he went upstairs to change.

He was dressed in a flannel and jeans when he returned. He and his father went out into the fields to harvest their crops that had grown in recently until late in the afternoon.

Once they stopped for the evening some of their neighbors walked by and asked how their day was and if they were going to the show later tonight. The father answered and made small talk while Harkness went inside to get changed into something clean.

"Sorry that we couldn't get any training in today Hark." His father said as they sat at the dinner table, while waiting for their meal to be brought out by the girls of the household.

"It's fine. We can work on it another day. We still have the show to see tonight, so we'll have fun there!"

The play they were seeing in the evening was an annual tradition of the town telling the story of the great war that ravaged Remnant not long ago. It is set up by a group of actors and their crew from the nearby kingdom of Vale and hosted in the villages on the outskirts of the great city. It's an event that is accompanied by a festival celebrating the end of the war held by the village, which is usually lots of fun for young Harkness and Sara.

"Exactly. We'll head out after dinner and try to get some games and rides in before it starts, alright?" His father suggested once more.

"Sounds like a great idea love." The mother replied as she set down a plate for Harkness and his father respectively, then placed a kiss on her husband's cheek.

"Ew~! Mom, stop doing that in front of me!" Sara piped up after seeing the simple act of love.

Everyone else laughed, making her pout yet again. As they ate their meal, the family made small talk about school for the kids, politics, and even a little bit of gossip in the village. When they were finished they walked out and piled into the family car and drove towards the festival.

During the drive Harkness noticed that the guard posts had more activity than usual. He quietly asked his father if anything was going on while his sister and mother were chatting. He didn't want to worry the girls, considering they didn't like violence.

"Everything is fine Harkness. There's just been a larger amount of Grimm in the area than normal, so they're just adding more security for the festival." His father replied. "Now just think of something positive for a bit. We're almost at the village."

Just as his father said, they arrived at the village not even a minute later. The festival is being held in the center of the village as usual. Once they arrived, Sara unlatched her seatbelt at a ridiculous speed and rushed out the door to the festival. The rest of the family found her at the cotton candy stand bouncing up and down, desperate for one of the pure sugar treats.

They did exactly as their father suggested, walking around playing the games and getting onto the rides to pass the time until the show. The parents smiled as they watched their children enjoying themselves.

While walking towards the play, Harkness noticed something odd. The guards that before had their weapons holstered now had them drawn. They even seemed to be on high alert. The thought made Harkness nervous and he pointed it put to his father. This time the older man seemed more worried, but they kept walking to the show. As they sat down, Harkness and his father began going over what could possibly be going on.

"Like I said earlier there have been more Grimm spotted on the outskirts of the village for the past few weeks. I'm not quite sure why though." His father said.

Harkness pondered for a moment. "Could it be negativity? I know Grimm are attracted to it, maybe the residents haven't been as happy as normal?"

"Clever thinking son. Now that you say that I have noticed there has been bad news spreading throughout the village about-"

His father was cut short when a guard approached them.

"I'm sorry to intrude Joel, but we have a problem." The man said as he ran towards them.

"What's going on?" Harkness's father replied with a look of genuine concern.

The guard at first hesitated, due to his superior's son being present, but continued when Joel waved him on.

"As you already know sir, the amount of Grimm in the area had been increasing radically. As we speak our men are beginning to get overrun. I suggest we get everyone evacuated to the bunker, sir."

"Hmm..." Harkness's father pondered for a few moments before making his decision. "Very well, sound the alarm. But we need to keep the people calm. Panic and fear will only worsen the matter."

"Right away sir!" The guard gave a salute and rushed off.

"Alright son," Joel turned to Harkness and placed both of his hands on his son's shoulders and looked him dead in the eye. "I'm going to lead the defensive. Take your mother and sister to the bunker. I'm putting you in charge down there, make sure every stays calm and collected. Do you think you can do that?"

Harkness only stared. He had never had that much responsibility before. This request was insane to be asking only a ten-year-old.

"Harkness!" Joel quietly shouted snapping his son out of his daze.

"Y-yes father!"

"Also make sure to get in contact with any Huntsman in the area. I'll do the same, but it's better to have the two of us do it to be safe. Can you do that?"

Harkness responded this time with more strength and a slight puff of the chest. "Yes father."

"That'a boy. Now go." He waved his hand in a shooing motion and started off toward the guard station.

Harkness watched his father's figure recede into the darkness then turned to his family.

"Mom, we have to go, now!" He said, earning a raised eyebrow from the woman.

"What do you mean? The show hasn't even started." She replied, perplexed at her son's strange behavior.

"There's no time to explain, we're all in danger here! We _have_ to go!" Once there was a mention of danger his mother shot up.

"I'm sorry Sara, we'll have to see next year's show." She took her daughter's hand, ignoring the fit the child was throwing.

Harkness's mother let him lead the way, considering he was the only one of them there who knew the way to the shelter. Only seconds after they began running in the direction of the bunker, the small speaker system the town had set up for a radio and, if the need had arisen, an alert system.

 _"Attention everyone, this is not a drill. We are under attack by a Grimm horde. Please make your way to the bunker in the south-western end of the village. I repeat, all residents make your way to the bunker in the south-east of the village. It is of utmost priority to remain calm. Panicking will only worsen the matter at hand. I repeat, remain calm at all costs."_

The message repeated over and over again. The female voice was calm and collected, even considering the circumstances. Some people were still panicking, however most stayed calm while they waited for the shelter doors to open. The bunker was equipped with 4-inch thick steel doors that opened by a track system that could only be operated by the village's guard station, then only from the inside afterwards.

The doors opened after a short wait. Just in time too, as gunfire could be heard in the distance as the guards did their job in protecting the citizens. Everyone filed into the shelter in order of woman and children first. Harkness was thankful to see that he saw everyone in the village there, except the guards fulfilling their duty.

Upon remembering this, Harkness turned his head back as the doors began to slide shut, and hung his head low. Knowing full well that it is quite possible that the guards may be on a suicide mission at this point.

And with them... His father.

He remembered his father's last orders before they split up and went around the shelter to keep everyone calm as best he could. He also made sure to call upon the Huntsman in the area, along with Beacon Academy, considering they trained the Huntsmen there they must be capable of defending them as well.

The bunker's walls were thick, but not thick enough to drown out the sound of battle above. The fighting went on for hours, yet there seemed to be no end. As the battle raged above, some people began panicking once more, giving Harkness even more work.

With each face he soothed, he only felt his own anxiety worsen. Eventually everyone was calm again as Harkness reassured them that the Huntsmen should arrive anytime now and rescue them. At this point he sat down next to his sister and held her close, comforting her, as she was the only one remaining distressed apart from himself.

"Hey sis, how're you holding up?" He asked, hiding his own distress from his voice as to not make his sister even more worried.

Sara sniffed once and leaned her head into Harkness's shoulder.

"... I'm worried about daddy..." She sniffed again. "It's been so long, and they're still fighting up there. Is it really that bad?" She looked up into Harkness's steel eyes with her blue, glistening from being on the verge of crying.

"Listen, our dad is a strong, capable fighter. I'm sure he's doing fine up there. Things must just be getting complicated."

While he did know his father was a great fighter, however he would be lying if he said that he believed in the second part of his statement. With that he pulled his sister closer into a hug. "And if anything does happen, remember I'm always here to protect you."

Sara nuzzled herself deeper into Harkness's chest, letting her tears that now released themselves run into his shirt. The boy could care less about his shirt getting ruined. All he cared about was making sure that everyone, especially the little girl latched to him now, was safe.

After another half hour, the gunfire finally stopped after the sound of a bulkhead was heard. Everyone sat in silence not sure what to do. There was a beep on the intercom not long after, and a voice could be heard coming from the other end.

Everyone remained silent as they listened to the voice on the intercom ring throughout the shelter.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?"

Nobody answered, knowing just how dangerous it still could be.

"Hello?" The voice repeated. "We are Huntsmen that received a distress call from this village of a large-scale Grimm attack. We've noted that the last of the Grimm have been eradicated."

Now a man stood and moved to press a button on the intercom. Harkness shouted to him to stop, but he was too late.

"How are things out there? Where are the guards, shouldn't they be the ones giving the all clear?"

There was silence on the other end for a few moments.

"... I'm afraid that none of your village's guards made it... I'm dreadfully sorry."

Everyone sat in silence. Whether it was to do with shock, mourning, or a combination of the two, Harkness was not sure. He himself stuck with the second option, knowing how dangerous Grimm are… Especially in numbers.

"If you open the doors we can evacuate you all to a safe location. All of the fighting may possibly bring more Grimm."

After a few moments of the man at the controls hesitating, he hit a few buttons and pushed the lever up to open the door. Upon seeing the door open Harkness realized the mistake that man made, as a cylinder rolled in through the doorway.

"GRENADE!" Harkness shouted from instinct and leapt over to a trashcan, removing its lid, and skillfully throwing it on top of the cylinder.

It wouldn't do too much good, but it's better than nothing. Upon the capsule exploding, it released smoke into the shelter, making it difficult to see at all.

Harkness could make out a figure running in from the outside and towards the door controls. The boy immediately knew the figure's plan to sabotage the door controls and ran towards the dark figure.

He tackled the figure down before he reached the console and began beating the man across the head. The hostile was dressed in white and wore a black hood and a white bone mask shielding his face from Harkness's attacks, but the blunt force of his attacks still rendered the man with a good deal of pain.

The man kicked young Harkness off and ran towards the kid ready to crush his skull into the solid concrete floor. However, Harkness left a well-placed kick to the man's leg, bending it backwards with a crack and earning a scream from the hostile as he fell to the ground.

As Harkness stepped towards the man to question him, he was hit in the back of the head by the hilt of a blade, knocking him to the ground, disoriented. He saw a new figure, a teenager with red hair, holding the sword used to incapacitate him above the control panel and taking swings at it, sending sparks flying and earning a constant beep from the console.

When Harkness tried getting up he was greeted with a kick to the head from the swordsman, sending him spiraling backwards and landing on his back. The teen threw his sword on the ground near Harkness and helped the other man up and walked him towards the door. The swordsman peered over his shoulder looking to Harkness and spoke. "You'll need it." The deviant smirked and left the shelter.

The whirl of the engines of a bulkhead were heard once more and the sound got gradually softer. Harkness returned back to his feet, still trying to regain his senses from his head trauma.

Sara and his mother ran over to him worried.

"Are you okay Hawky?" Sara asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He said as he placed a hand on his forehead and winced at the pain still resonating throughout his skull.

"What did he mean by 'You're going to need it'?" Harkness asked himself. "You're going to need it; you're going to..." His eyes widened as he realized what was to come. "Mom, Sara. Get everyone deeper into the shelter and have them seal it! NOW! GO!" He shouted and they responded by doing so.

"What's going on Harkness?" His mother asked as she ushered people deeper into the bunker behind a spare set of doors.

"Whoever those people were, they sabotaged the main door controls, allowing Grimm to get into the bunker."

"Oh my god" His mother gasped. "Get back here then!"

He looked at the doors, then back to everyone else, then to the doors again. He then spared a gaze at his sister. While he stared at her he memorized every detail of her adorable face, from the way her golden hair flowed in the wind, to the way her beautiful blue eyes twinkled in the light. He then walked to the door, picking up the sword on the way, and stared deeply into his sister's eyes once more.

"Remember, I'll always protect you." He let those words escape his lips, then reached his hand through the doorway to the console and flipped the switch to close the door, leaving him on the opposite side of the rest of his village.

"NO!" His mother and sister screamed in unison as the door slid shut.

They tried to reopen it, but there was a timer set by the boy to ensure his loved ones didn't make any foolish mistakes.

He inspected the sword in his hands; It was a fine blade. A katana made of a lightweight, yet durable metal. He then gave one last look to the door he just locked everyone he knew in his ten years of living on Remnant behind.

After a few moments of staring at the door he looked back to the now open main set of doors, setting himself into a defensive stance as he heard growls emanating from the direction.

He saw the beowolves creeping down the stairs, catching eye of their prey. There was also a large number of creeps in tow as well. Harkness only glared at the beasts, not giving in to the fear that those eyes would strike into anyone else. If Harkness was going to Hell today, he was going down with a good cause... And with an assload of Grimm to come with him.

The beasts circled around the boy, snarling at him the entire time. Harkness's gaze never faltered from the beasts' frames. Finally, one of the demons leapt at him, being quickly cut down with the blade he was given by the stranger who caused this mess. Another of the beasts took a leap at the boy, this one landing a hit on one of his shoulders, then returned to circling his once more.

The wound healed from his aura after a minute of parrying and dodging attacks. Eventually two of the beowolves leapt at him in unison. He rolled away slicing one in half, then jumping as the other made another attempt at an attack and landed on its back, driving the blade through its spine. The remaining beowolves slowly inched their way towards Harkness.

He took careful steps backwards, slowly heading up the stairs and outside, with the Grimm following a slightly slower pace than him. As he reached the outside he saw what remained of some of the guards' bodies. He gagged at the sight then returned his attention onto the enemy.

This time he took the offensive and cut the two beowolves down where they stood. He looked around to see there weren't any Grimm to be seen... For now.

He scouted the area, checking the bodies of his fallen comrades. He took any of the information on the bodies, primarily their ID from their wallets, so they could be remembered for their sacrifice to save those they loved.

This course of action eventually led him to his father's body. Joel was still alive, though flayed pretty horribly and hardly breathing. Upon seeing his son out in the danger his eyes widened.

"Don't worry Dad, I can handle myself." He said as he held the sword out.

His father's eyes softened slightly.

"Looks like things got pretty rough out here, huh?" Harkness said in a low, solemn tone.

His father simply nodded solemnly.

Harkness sighed. "I made sure everyone is safe down there." He said after a moment.

His father looked into his eyes.

"Good." He said as he smiled. His voice was rough and low. "I knew you would."

"I wish you could be down there with them." Harkness said as he hung his head low.

"Hark." His father said. "I knew my fate when I sent you and the girls off. I'd rather be up here making sure you all were safe. You and those two are the world to me, and I'd be damned if I'd ever let anything happen to you."

Harkness looked back into his father's eyes.

"There... Was an issue, when we were down there..."

Joel's eyes showed concern once more.

"I handled it though." Harkness reassured. "There was a group of people that acted as Huntsman to get us to open the doors. They sabotaged the door controls to let Grimm in. I locked everyone deeper in behind the spare doors, but I stayed out to lead any Grimm away."

Joel laid in silence for a moment staring into his son's eyes.

"You... You risked... Dying out here for them?"

Harkness just nodded.

Joel's eyes welled with tears. "Son, that is more bravery than I ever possibly expected could come from you... I'm proud of you, Hark." He smiled the biggest smile Harkness had ever seen from his father.

"My boy... Making the ultimate sacrifice... For everyone he cares about..." His voice grew raspier each sentence. He began a horrible coughing fit for a minute. Blood trickled from his mouth and he wiped it with his sleeve.

"Harkness..."

"Yes, father?" He leaned closer to hear what his father had to say.

"I'm proud... To call you," A cough. "My son." He smiled once more. "And I have to be," Another cough. "The happiest father, knowing what you've done."

His father's eyes moved away and towards the stars now starting to show in the orange and purple sky. One final breath was let out and his eyes glazed over. Harkness took a minute to register the sight in front of him now. He felt tears well up and slide down his cheek as he leaned over his father's body and cried.

He sat there crying for well over ten minutes, mourning the loss of the great man he admired. When his eyes couldn't force any more tears out he glanced at his father's weapon.

It was a standard issue M4-A1 with a halo sight and vertical grip. It had an emblem etched into the side that was the insignia of the group his father worked with in the past.

He picked up the weapon and slung it over his back. Harkness looked at his father again, and noticed something in his hand. Upon closer inspection he saw it was a piece of folded up paper. He took it and opened it out, revealing a photo of the entire family standing in front of their farm.

They all looked so happy, so full of hope for the future, waiting to see what they could do to leave their mark on this world. Harkness folded the paper and stored it in his pocket for safe keeping. He also removed his father's dog tags, giving him one more memento of the man.

He walked away and noticed something odd as he rounded the building that had the bunker built underneath it. There were explosives attached to the side of the building, explosives that looked like they were on a timer. Harkness ran closer to see the time left before detonation. Whoever these people were that came in, they were intent on killing everyone here.

The timer read two minutes, not giving Harkness anywhere near enough time to defuse them all. So he made quick work of the ones he could, being careful as to not set them off early.

When the timer read 15 seconds he had disarmed about half of the explosives due to the adrenaline that kicked in. He finished the one he was on then ran behind cover as there were only 7 seconds left.

6...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

The resulting explosion was still powerful and took a huge chunk of the building away, as well as leaving a hole in the ground leading to the bunker. Upon looking into the hole he saw the faces of everyone he locked behind the door, looking back up at him with terrified expressions.

Harkness knew the explosion, along with the panic it imbued into the people within the bunker, would draw more Grimm to the village. He gave a quick look around and made sure there were no Grimm in the area. He then moved back to the pit holding the villagers.

"Alright everyone, there isn't much time. We need to get as far away from the village as we can. That explosion is going to draw more Grimm this way, and based on what happened from the first wave, we don't want to be here when the second one hits."

People began shuffling trying to climb out of the hole, slowly and cautiously as to not cause any of the rubble to slid down sealing their only escape. As the villagers climbed out, the boy gave out more instructions. "Any man that knows generally how to use a firearm grab whichever ones you can find and get used to handling it, we're going to need protection."

"All woman and children file out over there and get ready to travel a long distance." He said as he pointed towards a coffee shop that was on the border of the village. "We're going to head towards Vale for help. This village is a lost cause at this point."

Everyone took Harkness's instructions, not hesitating in the slightest at taking orders from a child. A fair amount of the men of the village grabbed the weapons by the corpses of the fallen guards and familiarized themselves with them.

Just as the last villager got out of the hole Harkness heard shouting and gunfire. Grimm were already arriving and attacking the new militia. Harkness pulled his father's M4 from his shoulder and began providing support to the less experienced fighters.

He hadn't used guns much himself, but his father taught him some of the basics not even a month before. He checked if the rifle was set to semi-automatic, one of the lessons Joel had taught him, and saw that his father already had it set.

Every Grimm he saw had a well-placed shot either in the head, neck, or chest, each spot earning another kill instantly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a beowolf pounce upon one of his fellow fighters and shot the beast in the head. Sadly, upon seeing the life draining from the man's eyes he realized he was too late.

"We've got a man down!" One of the others called out, notifying everyone of their fallen comrade.

Harkness continued taking down Grimm until he eventually heard a shriek from one of the residents. Upon turning he saw what caused the woman to scream. He laid his eyes upon a creature of Grimm he only believed was in legends.

The giant scorpion charged straight towards the defenseless townspeople, and Harkness did the only thing he could. He began opening fire on the monstrosity hoping to get its attention on him. His bullets simply bounced off the bone carapace doing no actual damage, however it accomplished his goal.

He turned and ran in the opposite direction of the civilians, luring the deathstalker away from the defenseless. While looking back he saw petrified looks on the faces of his remaining family as they watched Harkness with a beast that could easily kill the boy chasing after him.

Most of the militia turned to fire but turned back and began defending the residents once more after realizing what the boy was planning. The village didn't have much more than homes for the inhabitants and a few stores, but it did have a refueling station available for any travelers that needed to refuel.

Which leads to Harkness's plan to take out the giant. Yes, it was an insane plan, but it would get the job done. And Harkness was fully willing to take the risk for the rest of the village, and more importantly his family. Once he arrived at the station he quickly looked for a way to trap the creature. His eyes shot all over the area until he found something that will work.

The best option was for him to try to get the scorpion's stinger stuck in the store, then use one of the ice dust canisters nearby to freeze it into the building, then set off the gas pumps. The concrete of the structure should hold the beast for a short enough time to get the job done.

And so Harkness went to work. He pulled one of the canisters closer so he wouldn't have to throw it as far, then waited for the deathstalker to catch up. Once it arrived at the station it began to close in on him. Harkness shot looks from the Grimm to the wall then back, waiting for the creature to strike. A loud shriek of what sounded like some kind of bird could be heard in the distance, but the boy was too focused on his current target to pay any attention.

After a few moments of a stand-off the scorpion shot its tail forward, Harkness dodges then throws the canister at the wall. Afterwards he fires a shot into the canister, causing it to burst and freeze the area around it, embedding the beast's tail in the building. He then ran a good distance away and took aim at the pumps, firing one round.

The explosion received would make Michael Bay proud, leaving a moderately large black cloud, along with chunks of the legendary Grimm soaring through the sky. Harkness smirked at his work then ran back towards the group he was defending.

Upon returning he realized the mistake he made by leaving everyone behind. There were many of the villagers lying dead in the streets, leaving only a few alive, a group of about ten at most. He searched the group for his family as he approached. Thankfully he found Sara was still breathing... Although her breathing was frightening to see, rapid and hesitant.

When he reached the group, he found his mother was nowhere to be seen. He fell to his knees after his realization. One of the few remaining militiamen came to his aid and helped him up.

"What... W-what happened?" Harkness asked, trying to fight the surge of emotions flowing through him.

"There were too many Grimm. They broke through our line of defense and took down most of the townspeople. There's eight remaining, apart from the three remaining guards and you." The militiaman reported.

"There was also a Nevermore that came in and carried off a few of us as well... I'm sorry to say your mother was one of them." The last part the man said with a more solemn look than before, showing his sympathy to the boy who just lost both of his parents in a matter of hours.

Hearing the news, Harkness rushed over and pulled Sara into a tight hug, realizing she was going through what he was. He knew it was worse for her, due to her low age, and even more so as to actually seeing the sight of her mother carried away by a giant bird.

 _'I swear to all of the gods that man can muster, I will kill every single one of these monsters I find...'_ Harkness thought to himself.

Upon him releasing his sister from the hug, there were more Grimm rushing towards the group. Harkness pulled out his father's rifle and tried to take shots, but found the magazine was empty. There was not enough time to get another from one of the other fighters or from a corpse, so he threw the gun to the ground and drew the sword.

He charged forward slicing through every Grimm he came across, drenching his clothes in a deep crimson. He jumped and kicked off of a beowolf's head and ran back towards the group to be the last line of defense, leaving the men armed with range to take out more Grimm without worrying about hitting the boy.

A subterranean Grimm dug out behind the line of defense and took down one of the civilians, but was quickly cut down by Harkness, earning a curse from the boy as he saw the poor man would likely not survive without medical treatment.

"Where the hell are all the Huntsmen?!" One of the militiamen shouted.

Harkness agreed with the man. He and his father had called for them hours ago now, and they weren't too terribly far from Vale's walls. They were still twenty minutes away via a ride from a bulkhead, but there still should have been at least one to five Huntsmen here already.

Another militiaman fell to a beowolf, which then pounced upon a civilian, tearing the throats out of both victims. Harkness took the beast down and cursed again.

"We've got six civilians left, and we're down one more man!" Harkness called to the group, earning a curse from them as well.

Another shriek like the one heard earlier reached the ears of the group as the nevermore returned and took a clawful of the villagers and two of the guards.

"Fucking hell! Someone shoot that thing down!" One of the remaining two militiamen shouted.

Harkness saw the giant bird drop the people it grabbed from the sky, cringing and feeling sick at the thought of his mother meeting that same fate. The screams of the people falling broke the kid's heart, but he had to focus at keeping the... One remaining villager... Sara.

The girl was curled up in a corner and crying at the events unfolding around her. The distant sound of a bulkhead and its cannon firing caused Harkness to look up into the sky. He saw as the cannons on the airship tore apart the winged demon with their 40mm firepower. He smiled for the first time as he realized they were finally saved. Then he heard a scream that instantly snapped his attention.

In his time gawking at the rescue, he left his sister vulnerable, not realizing the remaining guards were taken down.

A lone alpha beowolf had its claws dug into her abdomen. Just as Harkness leapt at the beast it shot forward and bit into the girl's neck and twisted, earning a crack that made the whole world stop for the boy.

The world around Harkness was frozen for what seemed like eternity. He processed every bit of the sight in front of him. The look of terror in his sister's lifeless eye, the blood that stained her beautiful dress, the way the beast seemed to have a devilish grin; taunting the young boy at his lack of intelligence of what was going on around him.

After what seemed like millennia, the world slowly came back to speed. "NOOOOOOOOO!" The boy screamed as he soared though the air towards the Grimm that just slaughtered his beloved sister.

The beast simply stood and lifted its arm up, impaling Harkness on its claws from the force of his leap. It then pulled him closer to its face and stared at him dead in the eyes. The Grimm raised its other arm and prepared to take the boy's head off with a swipe of its claws.

Just as the alpha beowolf was about to send it's arm to decapitate the boy, the arm holding him was cut clean off, dropping Harkness to the ground with a thud. The Grimm howled in pain, then had its head blown into red paste from a shotgun blast at point-blank.

The figure that saved Harkness stowed away the scythe-scatter pistol weapon and knelt down to eye level. He then took a look at the boy and took into account his wounds.

"You'll live." He said. "Oz, we've got a survivor over here!" He shouted to another figure approaching from the bulkhead since it landed.

The new man knelt down and looked Harkness in the eye. "You are a bold one, what you did there was either very brave, or very foolish. But nonetheless, I admire the choice you made to attempt to save that girl." The white haired man spoke with a calm voice.

Harkness removed his focus from the man in front of him and gazed at his sister's lifeless body. "I'm sorry..." He said, his voice was very drowned out and the others hardly made out what he said, which had earned a confused look on the duo's faces.

"He'll live, but only if we get him to a hospital, _now._ " The scythe wielder said after shaking the look off his face.

"Very well, get him onto the airship and we'll get him to the closest hospital in Vale." The white haired man agreed.

"No!" Harkness shouted, his voice regained slightly. His disagreement earned questioning looks from both men, along with the other people walking towards them.

"Not without her." Harkness continued, shifting his head towards his sister's body before blacking out.

"Harkness!" A shake.

"Harkness!" Another shake.

" _Harkness!_ " A final shake woke the soldier from his nightmare.

A/N:

Hopefully the length of this chapter didn't irritate anyone, and if it did, I apologize. It was necessary though. I was trying to see if I could put a break in somewhere and let the rest show up later, but it didn't seem like it would work out very well.

In this chapter we got a good look at Harkness's past, and now you'll understand why at times he may become an asshole or overreact at certain situations. Shit happened to him that'd f**k a person up.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this in-depth chapter. I had to put in a lot of details, and it was a lot more work on this chapter than any of the previous, but I still enjoyed it.

At first, chapter one had the prize for being the longest chapter, but now this one takes the cake heheh~ (The cake is a lie). Sorry again if that ticked anyone off.

Also made a couple more references in here. Shout-outs to the first few to get them!

Once again, thanks to everyone sticking around for the ride! Feel free to review, follow, and/or favorite.

Y'all have a good day now :D

-GG

P.S. Feedback, feedback, feedback! Everything is appreciated!

 **EDIT:** So I know what some of you might be thinking. "Why has Golas been uploading a whole bunch of chapters over a matter of two days?" Well~ like I said a bit ago I've actually started working on this story back in the summer. I would've started uploading sooner, but life has been keeping me pretty busy, so~ yeah~. All of the chapters up to chapter 9 have already been finished and I will be uploading them over the weekend. After that, you'll all be caught up to me and will have to wait a week or two before another chapter comes out. Also there may be an occasional time where I finish a chapter earlier than anticipated, so keep an eye out for that. That's all for now, see you all real soon!


	7. Chapter 7

Beautiful. Calm. Serene. These were all good terms to describe the scene in front of Ruby. She's laying in one of the open grass fields of Beacon Academy, watching all of her friends having a good time.

Team JNPR is playing a game of Frisbee. Weiss and Yang are sparring, with Weiss using carefully placed attacks while Yang is frantically punching anywhere in Weiss's direction. Blake is being her usual self; Reading a book under a tree.

Team CFVY is sitting down at a picnic, eating and sharing stories. Heck, team CRDL is actually being pretty mellow for once; Just sitting down at a table talking about... Well, Ruby couldn't quite make out their conversation honestly.

Everyone is just having good fun. Then she realized something... Phyrra was part of Juane, Ren, and Nora's game.

Confused, Ruby got up to walk over and talk to them, but when she stood, she felt herself spinning while the world around her darkened. When she stopped spinning she wobbled from the dizziness she felt and fell to her knees.

As her knees hit the solid ground now below her, she recognized the floor beneath her. It was the flooring of Professor Ozpin's office. When she looked up from the ground she saw the office was in ruins, no walls existed anymore, nor the ceiling. There was a hideous giant creature that could only be some kind of Grimm, the likes of which Ruby had never seen nor heard of, peaking its head over Ozpin's former office.

And kneeling in the center of the platform was Phyrra, winded and weakened by a difficult battle. Standing opposite her a mere foot was a familiar looking woman dressed in red, with her bow drawn at the warrior. Ruby watched with dread as the arrow flew straight into her friend's chest, unable to move, speak, or even think. She watched as Phyrra faded into an orange dust and blew away in the wind.

Ruby sat for a moment with tears welling in her eyes, then finally regained control of herself. She stood and screamed Phyrra's name in the loudest tone she ever had used.

...

Then everything became a blinding white, and the Rose girl's ears rang. After a few moments the white faded to a scene leaving Ruby on a rooftop overlooking a city at night. She couldn't quite make out what it was. One of the other kingdoms maybe? She would have normally found the view beautiful... But something felt off...

Ruby looked around trying to figure out why her gut was saying that something wasn't right here, but couldn't find anything strange. When she gave up on trying to think she looked up into the heavens, begging whatever deities that may be listening to help her. Then she noticed something strange. It was dark like it was night, but there were no stars. Even the shattered moon was missing in the sky!

Then she heard the screams.

Looking back towards the city she could hear screams of terror from the residents inside, and sirens going off, much like the ones that went off when Vale was attacked by Grimm let in by Torchwick and the White Fang.

It wasn't really night. A quick look at her scroll told her it was two in the afternoon! The skies were black from something. What looked like pitch black clouds, in the distance of said clouds was an ominous red glow.

The screams once again gained Ruby's attention and she turned back to the city and began running towards it. Then she heard a sound that brought a type of terror that she never felt before. She looked up to where the sound came from and saw the same beast she saw on Ozpin's office flying over her.

She squinted and was able to make out black spheres raining down from it falling towards the city. Upon the spheres hitting the ground, creatures of Grimm spawned from literally nowhere! Ruby shuddered at the sight in front of her as the Grimm began to overrun whatever city this was.

She continued running and was about to decapitate a beowolf when she felt a sudden searing pain spread across her back. She turned back and saw that a figure stood in the distance. Not enough to make out who it was, only to know that they were there, and that they had attacked her. Her back burned from the blast sent into it. The silhouette of the person was short and feminine, and the way her back burned reminded her of a weapon she was attacked with before.

Then another silhouette came into view, along with the sound of high heels clicking against the asphalt they stood on. She saw sections of the second individual's legs glow in an orange light and after a moment felt another pang in her chest.

Upon looking down she saw that an arrow was embedded in her chest, one that looked exactly like the one that had slain Phyrra. Upon looking back up she could now see the second figure. The woman in red, except she wore a black stealth outfit. Was that the one she saw during the dance so long ago? She had a devious grin on her face, simply stared at Ruby.

A moment later Ruby realized why as she felt a pain in between her neck and left shoulder. The beowolf Ruby was about to kill had rounded up on her and sank its teeth into her neck, tearing that chunk of flesh and consuming it immediately. Ruby turned to try and fight it, but it pounced onto her and began tearing away at her torso with its claws and biting chunks from her neck again and again.

Ruby had never felt pain or terror like this before. Not once in her life has the prospect of being eaten alive crossed her mind. She now realized it has to be the worst possible way to die.

As she looked into the distance, knowing she was already as good as dead, she saw more Grimm charging towards her, ready for their meal. But just as she was feeling life was about to escape her, she heard a familiar voice.

No, two familiar voices. Three, four... A fifth even.

A moment later the Grimm she saw running towards her were nothing but red paste on the road and she felt the weight of the beowolf on top of her slump off. She turned her head and saw Juane leading a charge towards Ruby and the Grimm that intended to devour her. Behind him was Harkness, Ren, Nora, and Qrow... And was that Blake and Yang?

While Juane and the others charged forth and attacked the Grimm, Qrow jumped to Ruby's side grabbing her arm.

"Ruby!" He shouted as he shook her arm.

"Ruby!" He repeated with another shake.

"Ruby! Wake up!" He said in a hushed shout.

With that Ruby finally awoke.

"Are you alright?" Qrow asked, the concern clear in his voice.

When she tried to speak her voice was raspy and whatever she tried saying was not understandable. Qrow grabbed a bottle of water from Ruby's pack and handed it to her. She greedily drank the clear liquid and her throat immediately felt better.

"Y-yeah... Just a bad dream." Ruby said slowly, still terrified of what she had just experienced.

"Yeah, I could tell. I thought I should wake you up 'cause it looked like you were gonna have a heart attack in your sleep or something." He gave a small smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Ruby was silent.

"Well, if you want you can take the next watch, use the time to calm down. Then maybe get some rest when someone else takes the next." Her uncle offered.

"... Okay." Ruby answered meekly. Grabbing Crescent Rose and getting up.

"You want to talk about it?" Qrow asked sincerely as he laid down in his bedroll, arms folded behind his head.

"I-I don't know... I'll h-have to think about it..." She was still distraught from her nightmare, and it shows.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there then. Take some time to think of happy thoughts, ease your mind a bit. Alright?"

"Yes uncle Qrow..."

And with that, Qrow was comfortable enough to drift off to sleep. Ruby sat there trying to figure out what to think about that would make her feel better.

After a few minutes, she remembered a nice thought. How her dream began, with her and her friends all having fun in the grass fields of Beacon.

Ruby sat on watch for a few hours now. She felt much better after thinking of happy thoughts and having a couple chocolate chip cookies for a snack. She didn't feel like going back to sleep however, still afraid she'll have a nightmare again. Thus, she opted to keep watch for longer than the group had agreed upon as a suitable amount of time.

In the early morning she noticed shuffling coming from one of the sleeping bags, along with discomforted groans. She got up to see who was having a hard time sleeping and noticed it was Harkness tossing and turning. She knew what the way he was acting meant. She had the same problem a few hours ago.

Ruby had two choices to make. A, let him sleep in the anguish of the nightmare, or B, wake him from the fitful slumber. She went with the latter.

"Harkness." She whispered as she shifted towards him, but the soldier made no move, apart from the shuffling from the nightmare torturing him.

"Harkness." She whispered again and gave a slight shake. Still no change.

She heard Harkness mumble something however, but she could tell it was from the dream. She thought it was something about being sorry to someone, but wasn't quite sure.

"Harkness!" Ruby raised her voice to a whisper-shout and gave him a harder shake. Again he didn't move.

"Harkness!" She repeated her actions once more, still to no avail.

" _Harkness!_ " The soldier finally stopped rolling in his bedroll.

He turned to face Ruby after what seemed like ages. His eyes were puffy and red and his breathes came with shudders. Was he crying in his sleep even? _'Whatever nightmare he was having must've been pretty bad. He doesn't come off to me as a guy that cries that often.'_ Ruby thought to herself.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Dumb question, clearly he wasn't, but it still helps.

Harkness took a shuddering deep breathe. "... Just a bad dream..."

Ruby scooted closer to try and give him some support. "Do you want to talk about it?" She suggested, just as Qrow did for her.

"I don't think so." Harkness said, still trying to calm down.

"You sure? I've heard it's supposed to make you feel better heheheh~" She smiled awkwardly and drawled on the even more awkward chuckle while scratching the back of her head.

"Let me guess... Good ol' Qrow told ya that?" Harkness stated rather than asked, dead on without a moment's hesitation.

"How'd you know?!" Ruby questioned, surprised at how immediate and correct the soldier was to call her out on repeating her uncle's actions.

"He and Ozpin 've tried that with me for years. Don't you think that if I was having something horrible going on in a dream, that the last thing I'd want to do is talk about it; Go through it all again?"

He had a fair point. In all actuality that's how Ruby thought when Qrow asked her. The two were on the same page there at least. With Harkness still not seeming calmed down, Ruby tried thinking of other ways of helping him relax. So she did the first thing that came to mind.

Harkness's breath hitched as he felt warmth envelope him, as he was not used to physical contact with other people apart from a handshake or a fistfight.

Ruby had given him a hug from behind, catching the soldier off guard. He normally would have sent his elbow straight into the gut of the person behind him on instinct, but he held himself back. Instead he just sat there, taking in the warmth from the combined body heat of his own and Ruby's. The two sat that way for a good few minutes, entirely in silence apart from the sounds of early morning insects and an occasional bird flying and chirping through the trees.

"I know how you feel right now." Ruby spoke up, breaking the silence. "I had a pretty bad dream earlier too."

Once Harkness came out of the trance-like state he was in, he gently forced his way out of the hug.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." Harkness said, while pulling a bottle of water from his pack, then turned towards her. "To the restless." He stated with a small smile and held the bottle up in a toast.

Ruby let out a quiet laugh and did the same with her own bottle. The two spent an hour or so of the early morning making small talk; The stories varied from some adventures Ruby had as kid all the way to their favorite foods.

"Wait, wait. So you're telling me your favorite thing to eat is hot wings?" Ruby asked confused as to why the soldier would like the burning sensation.

"What can I say? I like the fiery sensation." He said then chuckled. "Plus buffalo sauce _is_ pretty tasty." He added.

"That's fair I guess. You can already tell what mine is." Ruby said before taking a bite from another cookie.

"That's safe to say, yeah." He said while observing Ruby's look of nirvana as she savored the sweet treat.

Ruby wiped the crumbs that lined her mouth before speaking up again. "I have to ask, what is it like eating the~..." She trailed off trying to remember the name of the meals she was thinking about. "Y'know, the little package thingies that the military uses. What are they called again?"

"You mean MRE's?"

"Yeah! Those things." Ruby was glad that Harkness knew what she was talking about. That way she didn't make a _total_ fool of herself. "So, what's it like? Are they good?"

Harkness let loose a small laugh before answering. "Well, they aren't horrible, though they aren't a five-star meal either. They get the job done, and do so efficiently."

"Do you think if we get the chance I can try one? I've always wondered what it was like." Ruby asked. "But if it's too much to ask don't worry about it." She added immediately after, hoping not to be too intrusive.

"No worries. I've still got a few packs left since my journey here _was_ quicker than I expected. Maybe if everyone else wants to eat something you don't like one of these nights, I'll let you try one." He offered with a smile.

"Awesome!" Ruby jumped up happily, and ended up shouting a bit too loud because the entire group shuffled in their bedrolls simultaneously.

"Oops." She whispered as she sank down. It didn't seem like anyone had awaken, but the fact that they could've made Ruby feel a bit embarrassed.

Harkness chuckled for a moment, knowing full well what was going through her head. "You're fine, they're still asleep. Speaking of which, you should get some too. There's still a few hours left before daylight, and you should get the rest."

Ruby sat with a pout for a minute then eventually slunk down into her bedroll. Harkness heard her mumble something but he couldn't make it out.

Ruby pouted for a minute, disappointed that Harkness wanted her to sleep instead of them hanging out some more. To be fair though, they did just spend an entire hour talking. With that being said, her pout softened.

"I still want to talk to you though." She mumbled as she sank into her bedroll.

Ruby was enjoying the little chat she's been having with Harkness for the last hour. She wanted to better understand his personality and try her best to become a good friend with him.

There's no particular reason she wants to become friends with the soldier apart from the fact that she likes to be friends with pretty much everyone. Something did keep itching the back of her mind however. She couldn't help but wonder what Harkness's nightmare was.

Was it about a zombie apocalypse? Was he being chased by some psychotic killer with no way to defend himself? Was it his death? Ruby though up those few examples plus many more, but she felt like none of them were correct.

Yes, it's not a real big deal, but it's something still bugging her anyway. Ruby always wants to be there for a friend, so when one of them turns her away when she tries to help them she feels melancholy.

 _'Maybe I can ask him about it later, like a few days from now?'_ Ruby thought to herself. _'That should be enough time for him to have calmed down from it, right?'_

And with that plan made, Ruby let a small grin form on her lips as she let her consciousness slip away.

The heiress awoke from her beauty sleep and began her usual routine in the mornings.

She started off by stepping into a cold shower. These types of showers wake the body up in a different way than their warm counterparts and make the user more alert typically. These were the reasons she took cold showers, not to match her persona that people give her as 'The Ice Queen.'

After stepping into her private bathroom, Weiss let her nightgown slide from her slender frame to the tile floor, then turned to look at herself in the mirror before stepping into the cold water. Her eyes had bags under them and she wore a rather serious frown. She then stepped into the shower. The heiress knew she had to clean up her look because she had an important meeting to accompany her father with today.

When her father took her home he had made it quite clear that she was going to turn away from becoming a huntress and return to her duties as heiress of the Schnee Dust Company.

Of course Weiss had no interest in that title anymore. Though she may hate admitting it, she had forged friendships that she never had before during her time at Beacon. Whether it was the members of her own team, or the members of other teams, such as JNPR.

However, she missed team RWBY the most. The camaraderie she developed with that group of misfits was like none she felt before, and surely none she would experience in her father's corporation.

But alas, she was left here, preparing herself to go through the agonizingly boring motions of training to become the SDC's next owner. Shaking away the thoughts she had of her friends, Weiss searched the drawers of her bathroom for makeup to cover the sleep deprivation from her eyes.

Even if she disliked what she was going to do today, and most likely anyone there, she still felt the need to make herself look presentable. After applying a few layers of the dyed powders she walked out of her bathroom and began getting dressed in her new attire for running the company.

It was a more typical dress, going down her entire legs unlike her combat skirt. The top of the dress was an elegant blue that had a lighter gradient the further down it went, and had a slit revealing another white dress beneath. The shoulders and neck were covered by a dark purple-grey sleeve which held a sapphire gemstone in the center of the neck. After getting clothed, she made her way to the dining hall to eat her morning meal before starting her day.

The table was already set for her, the chef and maids knowing how her day was planned out. A plate of steaming scrambled eggs with red and green peppers mixed in, along with a side of ham and a fruit bowl sat in Weiss's spot at the table.

While sitting down she had to admit, it did look quite tasty. She also admitted to herself that she missed the meals her personal chef cooked for her every day before she left for Beacon. In all actuality, Weiss did like everyone that worked for them in their home, from the cooks to the maids, from the butlers to the gardeners, and the list goes on.

They're all generally nice people, which is a pleasant change considering her family. She never really realized though how much she subconsciously was thankful for having these kind folks making her meals and cleaning up after the Schnee Dynasty.

After finishing her meal, she made a decision. Once the maid came by to clean up her meal, Weiss spoke up. "Is the chef still back there?" She asked tipping her head towards the double doors to the kitchen.

"Yes he is. Is there something wrong Miss Schnee?" The maid sounded worried, knowing full well that usually when their employers asked for one of their workers, it wasn't a good thing.

"Not at all. I just wish to speak with him before I leave."

The maid relaxed slightly, still unsure of Weiss's intentions, then motioned towards the door while picking up the now empty dishes and walking towards the kitchen herself.

Weiss followed the woman into the kitchen and noticed the man dressed in white that had made her meal not long ago, still working in the kitchen. He stood over a pot that looked like it contained a type of soup, but Weiss had no idea what kind. Though it did smell delicious.

The chef noticed the heiress after a moment and smiled. "Why Miss Schnee, it's wonderful to see you." His smile slightly faded, but still remained. "Was there something wrong with your meal?"

Once again Weiss affirmed there was nothing wrong. "No, it was wonderful as always. I just wanted to say..." She paused for a moment. "Thank you. I know you might not hear it often from the others, so I felt I should tell you that I appreciate what you do for my family."

She smiled after giving her gratitude. The surprised look on the chef's face may have a little to do towards her smile as well.

"You're quite welcome Miss Schnee, but it is my job. You don't need to thank me."

"That's right, I don't need to. I want to." She affirmed.

"I also wanted to say I'm sorry how my family can be sometimes if things aren't..." She thought for a moment. "Set to their standards. I know you do your best back here and wanted you to know it doesn't go unnoticed."

The chef stood for a moment, not used to the sincerity he was receiving from his employers.

"Thank you for the kind words Miss Schnee. It's good to hear that I'm doing well for you." His original smile returned.

"You're welcome. I must return to my duties now, have a nice day."

"And to you as well." The chef replied with a smile.

Weiss turned to leave, but turned back a moment later. "Oh, and I wanted to give you this." She reached into the purse she had brought with her and pulled out a large amount of lien. "Consider it a bonus for your hard work."

He held a hand up. "You don't have to do that Miss Schnee, I'm payed enough already."

"No it's fine, I insist." She placed the money on an empty counter by the doors. "Again, have a nice day." And with that she left with a wave.

On her way to her next location, Weiss's mood changed, from the chipper mood of doing something good, to dreading who she was to meet next.

A/N:

So Ruby and Harkness get a little bit of a bonding moment here. I hope I wove it in pretty well, so let me know how you all feel about it.

Once again I've included some things that I believe in or have had happen to myself, the belief being that getting eaten alive is the worst way to go, and the experience being the fact that I've eaten an MRE before. Its a bit of a story in itself so I won't go into detail there. Also, hot wings, I freaking love them! The hotter the better lol.

Once again I know it's a bit of a slow chapter again, but it's all going to come together soon, I swear!

And as another order of business, if anyone actually gets into this story enough to create fan art, animations, or anything else of the like send the finished product my way, I'd love to see any work you guys have done. As of permission to do any of this, I give it out freely for artwork, but as of animations (if anyone gets that into the story that they would like to create a visual representation) please contact me before creating one. The reasoning behind this will be shown later, I won't say what my plans are quite yet there. Also I'm looking for someone to make a cover for the fic, so if you're an artist and feel like helping out with that give me a quick PM!

Anyway, thanks again to everyone sticking around. Feel free to review, follow, and/or favorite!

Have a good day everyone!


	8. Chapter 8

During his shift on watch Harkness found it difficult not to catch glimpses of Ruby's sleeping face.

"So innocent and fragile." He thought aloud in a whisper.

Seeing her face while she slept made him think of his little sister, all those years ago. When he would get her to fall asleep, he would sit beside her bed and see the same sight of innocence and fragility. In those nights, he made silent promises to protect those qualities. He never wanted the horrors he knew existed in the world to taint the little girl.

But he failed to keep that promise. That fateful day where his entire life crumbled around him. He lost absolutely everything.

After Ozpin and Qrow had picked him up, he was placed in multiple psychologists' hands for therapy. They helped ease his trauma over the years, with him consistently visiting them until he was sixteen and they deemed that he no longer needed their services.

Because Harkness was left as an orphan after his village's massacre, Ozpin took it upon himself to watch over the boy until he found a suitable family to take him in. The Headmaster would later find he rather liked the boy and decided to take him in as a student at Beacon. Ozpin also asked for Qrow to give help, considering he did have an entire academy to run.

The spy agreed to do so, and took the boy with him to Signal Academy whenever Ozpin had his hands full at Beacon. While Harkness was there, he noticed that Qrow would spend more time with a specific little girl. Qrow would even take her to the courtyards and train her to wield a scythe in battle as he did.

Harkness would watch for hours from the windowsill he sat in as the two would exchange blows. Later he would find out that the girl was Qrow's niece, who's dream to attend at his school when she came to age.

After reminiscing about those days, the soldier shook his head to clear his mind then returned to keeping an eye out for any movement in the woods. The sun was slightly peeking over the horizon. Harkness looked at the compass built into his pack and determined it was about six in the morning.

After seeing no movement in the woods, he turned his gaze back to the sleeping Rose. He once again became entranced in the face he looked into. He noted the way her hair fell slightly covering her eyes and found it quite adorable. He began noting more features he could make out now that he had a chance to see her in person or while not in conversation.

Minutes passed by as he stared at her slumbering face. He was so dazed he hardly noticed the sounds of gunfire in the distance. Shaking his head, he focused on where the sounds were coming from, then shook Juane awake. Juane got up groggily and wiped the sleep from his eyes. "What's- Going on Harkness?" He asked with a yawn.

"Sounds like someone's in trouble, I'm gonna go scope it out. I need you to take watch here." Harkness replied, earning a questioning look from the Arc boy.

"Shouldn't we wake the others up so we cou-"

"No," Harkness quickly cut him off. "That would make matters worse. They'd be tired and not at peak efficiency for a fight if we get into one. Plus, I'm just going to investigate for now. Could just be people hunting."

"Alright, if you say so." Juane said with a shrug as he equipped himself with his family heirloom. Harkness then bade Juane farewell and began running in the direction of the gunfire.

It was about a fifteen-minute run before he reached the cause of the commotion. He stumbled upon a blonde man and teen, both fighting off a good amount of beowolves and creeps.

Noticing they needed help he equipped himself with his modified AN-94 and began firing at the Grimm while still in the cover of the bushes. The two original fighters looked around warily as they saw the Grimm around them began falling dead, and not from their hands.

After twelve shots were placed before his weapon jammed. After a moment of fiddling with the bolt the casing shot out and the weapon was operational again. There were only a few more Grimm at this point, the blonde man swung his sword cutting two beowolves down, then spun and drove the blade through a creep's head.

Harkness spotted the final Grimm about to pounce upon the girl and he took a shot at the beast, sending a bullet right through its eye. With the Grimm down the two in the clearing turned towards Harkness's patch of bushes and aimed their weapons. Rather the man aimed his.

"Who's out there?" He called out and took a few small steps towards the tree line.

Harkness remained silent now that the man turned on him with his rifle. They didn't know where he was exactly, so it was possible for the soldier to leave altogether without anyone getting hurt.

"Well?!" The man shouted, clearly annoyed that the person who was attacking the Grimm alongside them wasn't showing himself.

They could just be worried that Harkness was a potential threat. After thinking about that he began to slowly raise up from within the shrubbery with his rifle at ease, but still at hand. Once the man spotted him a smile crossed his face. "Thanks for the help there, things were getting a bit out of hand." The man stored his rifle on his back, where his sword was also sheathed. "You got a name?"

"Harkness Valenwood, First Lieutenant of the Vale Air Force." He replied with a salute as he stepped into the clearing to meet the duo face to face.

"Isn't the air force supposed to... Y'know, fight in the air?" The girl asked directing her hand towards the sky.

At this moment Harkness noticed something peculiar. The girl was missing an arm. Her right arm to be specific. Upon him noticing she stepped back a bit and turned her body so it was harder for the soldier to see it. The man also caught on to Harkness noticing her missing limb.

"That's a bit of a long story, and one we'd rather not talk about right now." He waved a hand for emphasis. "Anyway, we're trying to find someone. Have you seen this girl?" He pulled out his scroll and showed Harkness a picture of who they were looking for.

Upon seeing the image of Ruby, he slowly rose his head to face the man. "Can you elaborate on _why_ you're looking for her?"

The two blondes shared a confused glance and nodded. "She's my daughter. A few days ago, we found a note from her that she was leaving and wouldn't be back anytime soon. We've been following the trail we found ever since." He paused. "Again, have you seen her?"

The slight glare the man gave Harkness told him that he already knew the answer. After a sigh he answered. "Ruby has been traveling with a group of her friends, along with Qrow Branwen and-"

"Wait a minute, how did you even know her name?" The girl spoke up again taking a couple steps forward. "Same thing goes for my uncle."

"I've known Qrow for a long time, and I recently met Ruby while I was tracking him down." Harkness stated to defend himself. "I've been traveling with them as well the last two days."

"Can you take us to them then?" The man asked.

Harkness remained silent for a moment and stroked his chin. "As much as I hate to keep a daughter separated from her father and..." He looked at the girl. "Whoever you are, but-"

"Sister." The girl stated sternly.

"Right," the soldier continued. "But as I was saying, did it ever occur to you that she might have left without you for a reason? Maybe that she was worried that you'd be in danger?"

"That's all the more reason to bring her home." The father stepped closer, his voice also growing more stern. "I'm pretty sure you don't know what it's like, but when you have your own kids you'll understand. Now, bring. Us. To. _Her_." His voice grew with each word.

"There's more to being a parent than keeping a leash on your kids y'know." This earned a glare from the man, but Harkness didn't falter. "My parents had boundaries for me as a kid, but they also gave me a good bit of freedom."

"Sounds like your parents didn't care about you as much as you think then." The man said casually after a scoff.

The soldier's grip on his weapon tightened while he raised it slightly. A scowl formed on his face as he spoke. "You should hold your tongue on matters you don't understand old man."

"I could say the same to you, _boy_." The man countered.

Harkness held back from dark thoughts crossing his mind about this man. "Believe me, I know what it's like to be in your position. To try and protect someone... And I failed. So take it from me, I understand what you two are going through right now."

The others remained silent for a few moments, trying to grasp what the soldier just stated. The man caught on first. "I'm sorry, I really am."

"Forget about it." Harkness said as he waved it off. "How about this, I go let Ruby know you're out here looking for her, and get back to you on what she wants to do then?" Harkness suggested while holding his hand out for a deal.

After a few moments of thought the father gave in. "Fine." They shook hands to confirm the deal.

"Stay here for now and I'll get back to you within an hour, Mister...?" The soldier drew out 'mister' for a moment.

"Xiao Long. Taiyang Xiao Long."

"Alright Tai, I'll check into that. Farewell to you and your daughter." He said as he gave a glance to the sister.

"It's Yang." She said, still a bit irritated.

"Until next time Yang." He said with a bow as he walked backwards then turned towards the forest.

"THEY'RE HERE!" Ruby screamed after Harkness notified her of her family searching for her.

"They're about fifteen minutes due East." He stated while tipping his head in the direction of the Xiao Long duo.

"Well that makes things complicated." Nora spoke up for the first time since the conversation started.

"What exactly did you expect them to do Ruby? Sit around and wait?" Qrow prodded, making a valid point.

"No!... Just... I don't know!" She buried her face in her hands. "I just never wanted this..."

"Alright, we have two options here." Harkness began. "I can go back and tell them to buzz off and go home, or I can take you back. I'm assuming you'd prefer not the latter." He said kneeling down to where Ruby was balled up on the ground.

"No..." She replied. "I don't want either really. I just didn't want them to get involved."

"I don't know exactly what it is in Atlas that you want, but that's a long journey, especially if it's mostly on foot. Not to mention dangerous for a group of pretty much just teens." The soldier continued. "What if I tried to convince them to join us?"

"I don't know kid," Qrow began. "Taiyang is pretty set to his ideas once he thinks of them. That could be pretty difficult."

"It's worth a shot though," Juane stepped up. "I mean, we've all been walking out here for two days already. Why not keep going?"

"That is a fair point." Ren agreed after swallowing a forkful of noodles he was eating for breakfast.

"So, is it settled then?" Harkness asked. A nod from everyone in the group gave him an answer, everyone but Ruby, who still had her face hidden behind her hands. He knelt down to her eye level again. "But in the end it's your choice Ruby."

"..." She remained still and silent for what felt like ages.

"Okay..." She said meekly at first, but her demeanor changed as she continued. "It might be nice seeing them again anyway." She finished with a small smile as she pulled her hands away from her face.

"Alright, I'll head back and talk to 'em. You guys go ahead and eat something for breakfast, and if all goes well we should be back at about the time you're finished." Harkness said as he rose back to a stance and offered a hand to help Ruby up. She accepted and gave a 'thank you' before meeting with the rest of the group for their morning meal.

Harkness gave his farewells then turned and began walking in the direction of the Xiao Longs, preparing himself for what to say to convince them to join Ruby's travels.

Throughout the fifteen minutes he walked, Harkness spent the time thinking of what to say. During that time, he also began feeling a bit nervous, and it grew every step closer to the Xiao Long duo's last location. He couldn't think of any reason why he felt that way at the moment, so instead he began taking his mind somewhere else, trying to ease the tension that was welling within him.

When he approached the clearing he had met them at however, they were gone. Upon quick inspection, there were two new sets of footprints in the snow going in the direction of his own back towards the camp.

Harkness's eyes widened at the realization and he cursed under his breath. He began a full sprint back to the camp, and while winded when was close, he made it in less than half the time.

When the soldier was on the outskirts of the camp he could hear shouting, clearly an argument, making it clear that his suspicions were true.

"- Don't care about your plan Ruby, you're coming back home until you're fully recovered!" He recognized the voice as Taiyang's.

"I feel fine dad! Even when we were attacked by Grimm I felt just like I do every time when we fight!" Ruby shouted back at her father.

Upon skidding to a stop when entering the camp all eyes fell upon Harkness and everyone remained silent for a moment.

"You and I had a deal mate." Harkness said pointing to Taiyang with an edge in his voice.

"Maybe we didn't trust that you'd come back." Yang stated as she put her hand to her hip and leaned to her right.

"Did I say I was talking to you." He turned and glared at the brawler, surprisingly making her take a step back with a slight change in her 'tough girl' demeanor. "Like I said. We. Had. A. _Deal!_ " With each word Harkness took a step closer to the father and his voice grew with more anger.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Qrow lean and whisper something to Ruby, but he couldn't make it out. "He's really into honor, respect, and that type of stuff, so he tends to get a bit pissed off when someone breaks a deal." Qrow whispered to Ruby, earning an understanding nod from the girl.

"My daughter wasn't wrong. We _didn't_ trust you at all." Taiyang responded casually. "You have to understand, from my point of view, you seemed to be trying to keep me from my daughter."

"So you're calling me a liar?" Harkness's eyes narrowed.

"At this point no. Looks like you actually did go out of your way and try to find us again." He replied in the same casual tone.

"Look here you son of a-" Harkness was about to explode on the man, but was interrupted by Qrow.

"Come on Tai, just take a minute and think about all this." He said in the same tone as the father. "Does Ruby look fine?"

Taiyang gave his daughter a look. "Yes."

"Does she feel fine?" Qrow looked to Ruby for an answer, and in turn she nodded with a 'Yep.'

"Does it look like she's in any danger with all of us here?" Qrow opened his arms indicating the group of friends, and one acquaintance, that was helping Ruby.

"... No." Taiyang said, clearly beginning to see his defeat.

"And do _you_ think that _your_ daughter, Ruby Rose, who single-handedly defeated the pawn that caused the mess at the Vytal Tournament, can defend herself, even entirely on her own?" He let the question hang in the air.

There was a long pause of silence.

"... Yes." Taiyang hung his head low, accepting his defeat.

Qrow looked at Harkness and gave him a wink, giving him the cue.

"Now, do you want to sit and mope around," Harkness began, earning a glare from the father and Yang. "Or would you like to see your daughter finish this journey she's embarking on?"

There was another moment of silence, then the brawler spoke up. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Um, Yang." Ruby was the one speaking now, slightly meekly, her sister now turning towards her. "He's asking if you want to come with us instead of worrying about me back home..."

"Oh..." Yang had a look of embarrassment line her face as she scratched the back of her head. "Sorry..." She said as she gave an apologetic look to Harkness.

He simply held his hand up and closed his eyes. "It's a yes or no question Tai." He stated as her turned towards Taiyang.

"... Alright. But I'm not going to take any more shit from you, _rat."_ He said as he stared Harkness dead in the eye.

"I'll hope I can expect the same from you." The soldier countered with a smirk, earning yet another glare from the man. "Otherwise, don't count on it." He challenged.

A/N:

So Taiyang and Yang finally catch up to the others. Yay! Aaaannd~ Harkness and Taiyang are gonna be butting heads, not so yay. There are multiple reasons this is happening, all of which will be shown in future chapters, but feel free to guess what they are! Maybe the first few people who get it right will get a shout-out when they are actually shown, along with other theories that I just like, or make me laugh.

This has to be one of my favorite chapters I've written so far now (Chapter one is still... Well, number one lol), and I'm still loving doing this!

Thanks to everyone still reading, I'm having so~ much fun writing, and you guys help out with that a lot! There's still plenty to come, and I'm excited to continue working on this project!

And one last note, I'd love to see what you guys have for theories of what is going to happen in this story. It'll give me a chance to have a nice conversation with y'all and I'm sure it will be fun on both ends of the spectrum.

Feel free to review, follow, and/or favorite, and I'll see you all soon!

-GG


	9. Chapter 9

The ocean was beautiful sight to see from this cliff that Ruby is sitting on, with her legs dangling over the edge and swinging in the air. The sun is close to setting; Thus, the group began to set up camp before the final rays of red and gold have fallen below the horizon.

"I've never been on this beach before, how come we never came here Dad?" Ruby asked while turning to face her father.

"I'd say the daylong trip here is what stopped us there." He replied as he began setting up his makeshift bedroll made from leaves.

Because they left the car not far from their house, Yang and her father were left without bedrolls. Harkness offered to make some out of the leaves of the trees nearby, which they took. They weren't as comfortable as the cotton and other fabrics the rest of the group had, but they'd get the job done.

"But didn't it take us three to get here?" Ruby asked.

"By foot, yes. By car it would take most of a day. If I did ever try and take you and Yang in the morning it would be maybe about an hour until sunset. I just never saw the point in it." He returned.

"Oh, that's fair then." Ruby started. "Couldn't we have made it a weekend trip or something though?"

"I don't know Ruby, I guess we could've. I just never thought of it, sorry."

There was a bit of silence between the two for a few minutes after that.

The group was split up a good bit at this moment. Harkness and Qrow were out collecting wood for a fire, Juane, Ren, and Nora were taking a walk on the beach below, and Ruby, Yang, and Taiyang were at the camp getting the bedrolls set up.

With nothing to do Yang began pacing around the camp, then got bored fairly quickly and sat down next to Ruby.

"So, that new guy. Have you met him before?" Yang asked, striking up a conversation between the sisters.

"Not really no." Ruby answered. "I guess he and Qrow have known each other for a while though, so that's cool!"

"Yeah he mentioned that before. Did he ever tell you how?" Yang asked, curious about the soldier's past with their uncle.

"Nope. He's kinda been avoiding talking about the past most of the time when I try to ask. Then again I've probably only asked him about five or six times." She admitted while scratching the back of her head.

"It's hard to blame him for that." Qrow's voice made the two turn their heads around. "I'd say give him the option of opening up to you, and if he doesn't then just let it be."

He wasn't being stern, but still made it clear for them not to bother Harkness about it. Speaking of Harkness...

"Where is he anyway?" Yang asked.

"Stopped by something that caught his eye in the woods. He should be back in a couple of minutes." Qrow answered casually.

"Now, what do we have for food?" Qrow stated as he checked the supplies.

They were running low on the non-perishables, and they haven't hunted for any fresh meat either.

"Sorry there isn't much left uncle Qrow," Ruby began. "We didn't think we'd have this many people coming so we packed less."

"It's fine Ruby. You really couldn't have seen it coming so don't worry about it." He said while waving off her apology. "And besides, I'm sure Harkness could take you out hunting again if we need to." He said with a smirk.

"Wait a minute, were they out there together alone?" Taiyang spoke up after grabbing the man in question's rolled up bedding.

"What, is there a problem Tai?" Qrow asked as he quirked an eyebrow.

"Maybe I'm just not comfortable about some kid I never met before being alone in the woods with my daughter." Taiyang responded as he narrowed his eyes.

"Dad it was fine, he just showed me how to make a bow and we caught a deer." Ruby said as she stood, ready to defend the soldier.

"Is that _all_ that happened?" He asked as he gave her a stern look.

Ruby blushed slightly at the implication and rose her voice. "It was nothing like that! Why are you being like this?!"

"Because I actually care about my daughter's well-being." He responded flatly.

"I'm fine on my own, isn't that what you said when you sent me to Signal?!"

"Ruby that's not what I meant, and you know it. I-"

"What's going on here?" The voice of the teen that the argument was about interrupted.

"Nothing you need to worry about." Taiyang hissed.

"Jeez man, calm down a bit. Not a great way to treat the guy bringing in some treats for everyone, huh?" Harkness stated as he gently dropped a handmade sack on the dirt next to Qrow and the food supply. He then walked over and opened up his pack and placed something inside it, but nobody could make out what it was.

"What kind of treats?" Ruby asked, forgetting all about the argument over her sweet tooth.

"Take a look." He smirked as he gestured towards the bag. He then turned to Qrow. "I'm gonna start on the fire now, got anything picked out to cook?"

Ruby shot up and darted to the bag and Yang followed suit. The voices of Harkness and Qrow were drowned out as she drooled over the sight in front of her. The bag was filled to the brim with big, red, ripe strawberries. Though cookies are easily her favorite, Ruby had secretly always had a soft spot for the sweet fruit.

"This is awesoooome~! Thanks Harkness!" She squealed in her usual exuberance.

He chuckled. "Good to see you're happy there."

He managed to get the fire going as Ruby began stuffing her face with the sweet, sweet fruit. Upon turning towards her and seeing her face covered in the red juice it was hard for him not to laugh.

"Save some for the rest of us alright?" He said in jest, not really minding if she ate the entire bag or not.

Ruby wiped her mouth with her sleeve and gave a quick apology, only to have it waved off considering that Harkness was only joking.

"Anyway," He started as he grabbed his bedroll. "Hey Yang, heads up." He tossed the bedding towards the brawler and she caught it with the one arm she had.

"Uh~, what's this about?" She asked while giving the soldier a questioning look.

"Well I felt bad that you'd be sleeping on the leaf bed, so I figured you could use mine instead."

This made her look even more confused, but she shook it off. "Thanks then, but you don't have to." She was adjusting to throw it back, but Harkness held his hand up, indicating her to hold onto it.

"Where I come from the wounded are first priority. Don't worry about me."

Yang looked at the stump of her arm and felt bitter feelings. Upon seeing the look on her face, he quickly apologized, but was just met by silence from her. He gave a look around the camp then scratched the back of his head. "I'm... I'm just gonna go take a walk."

He began walking towards the hill to go down to the beach. Taiyang watched as he passed by, not with his usual looks of distrust and annoyance at the boy, but rather a bit more thankful.

 _'Maybe he's not all that bad.'_ He thought to himself as he watched the teen's figure fade over the hill.

Ruby started running to follow him, but was stopped by her father. Upon looking into her eyes for a moment he pulled he into a hug. "I'm sorry about our fight." He said, then gave a slight squeeze. "I may have been over-reacting a bit."

"It's fine. I'm sorry for blowing up on you too. I can see what it can look like from your point of view."

He pulled out of the hug and held her at arm's length. "And I see that my view may have been wrong." He paused and looked in the direction Harkness left, then turned back to Ruby. "Go ahead." He said as he tipped his head in the direction, then let go of her shoulders.

Ruby nodded as thanks and took off. As she disappeared over the same hill Qrow turned to face him. "So, have a change in heart?" He asked with a smirk.

"Not exactly. But she did have a point earlier. I trust her not to get into trouble, so I can lighten up a little."

"Might need to do more than a little." Qrow responded, earning a questioning look from Taiyang. "You and I need a talk."

The view of the sun setting over the dark blue sea was a relaxing sight to behold. Sitting on the sandy shore, Harkness watched as the ball of fire began to slowly fall into the ocean, casting red and gold rays across the waves.

 _'Great job. You turned a simple kind gesture into an awkward encounter.'_ He thought to himself. _'Can't you do anything apart from pissing other people off.'_

He looked back up the cliff, then down at the ground beneath him. "I'm a failure to society." He said in a low, depressed tone.

"No you're not." The light voice of Ruby made Harkness suddenly panic, not realizing he wasn't alone.

"Uh... Hey Ruby. I thought you'd be spending time with your family. Why are you down here?" He asked perplexed.

"Them? Nah~" She gave a wave of her hand. "I've spent plenty of time with them already. Anyway, you seemed a bit... Um... Sad?"

"Thanks for checking on me, but I wouldn't say I'm sad. More like disappointed really."

"Why is that?" Ruby asked tipping her head to the side cutely.

He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "I guess I'm disappointed with myself. I didn't have to bring up your sister's... Condition." He looked down again. "And now it looks like I pissed her off when I meant to do some good. I felt bad that I was a bit of an ass to her when I first met her, so I wanted to make up for it."

"Aww~ that's nice. At least you tried, and with me knowing Yang, I'm sure she did appreciate it!" Ruby walked towards the soldier and sat beside him. "She's just been a bit... Moody ever since it happened."

"I guess I can't blame her there. Something like that's gotta be traumatizing." He looked out to the ocean again. "And I can understand her there..."

Ruby decided not to speak for a minute, which ended up being a wise choice. The silence made the view before them all the more peaceful.

"I've always loved these sunsets." She stated in a reminiscent voice after a few minutes of silence. "They're some of the best memories I've had here."

"Memories are a wonderful thing to have." Harkness said before turning to face Ruby. "The feeling of nostalgia is one of the best feelings a person can experience."

"Yeah~" She agreed calmly while watching the sun reaching the point where it was almost entirely engulfed by the sea. They sat in silence once more and watched as the final rays of daylight passed over the horizon. After a minute of sitting afterwards, Harkness stood, Ruby followed suit.

"I'm gonna go on that walk I mentioned earlier now." He said as he began a slow pace down the shore.

Ruby took a few steps. "Would it bug you if I came?"

Harkness stroked his chin for a moment as he walked. "I guess not. It's up to you though."

Ruby gave her answer as she quickened her pace to catch up to him and continued by his side. A small smile crept on his face, appreciating the company.

"So~... Anything you wanna talk about?" Ruby asked, the silence was a bit awkward for her now.

"Nothing I can think of at the moment." He replied as he turned to face her. "Anything you want to talk about, or anything you wanna ask?"

Ruby mimicked his chin stroking motion with a smirk, which caused the two of them to share a quick laugh. After a few moments however, she changed her expression from a joking one to more serious. "What about what you were dreaming about?"

Harkness stopped dead in his tracks leaving Ruby walking a few steps ahead, then turning around after noticing he wasn't next to her anymore. She winced as she realized she may have pushed too far.

To her surprise however, Harkness began with his own question. "What about you tell me yours first? Then _maybe_ I'll tell you mine." He said with a pained smirk.

"Um… Okay, that's fair actual- Hey! What do you mean maybe?!" She asked with a pout and crossed arms.

"Ruby, mine was… Something very real. I'm not really sure if I'd be comfortable going there again if I didn't need to."

"Oh…" Ruby slumped a bit. "Well, I guess I'm feeling better about talking about mine now… So, this is how it started." Ruby began going over the strange nightmare she had during the night while they walked, and earned a concerned expression from Harkness when she recounted Phyrra's death.

"Damn Ruby, I'm sorry about that. I had no idea you were there to see that." He said solemnly, giving her his sympathy.

"Yeah… It has to be one of the worst moments in my life…" She replied while looking down at her boots as they crushed the sand beneath them.

After a few moments of silence Harkness surprised Ruby by wrapping an arm around her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "I can understand what that's like."

"You do?" She asked as she looked back up at him with tears beginning to well in her eyes.

"You let me hear your nightmare, so I guess it's only fair to share mine." He started. "It all happened about seven years ago… My family lived in a village outside of the safety of Vale. We owned a farm there and provided a good portion of food to the town, and a few more that were nearby. We were at a festival that was held annually in memory of the war. It was a fantastic event by the way. Great food, fun rides and games, and best of all was this play that was put on by some professional actors from Vale."

"That sounds like a lot of fun." Ruby said with a smile. Her tears were drying up at this point.

"Yeah, it was great… But that's when everything went downhill." He looked down at the ground for a moment, which earned a concerned look from Ruby. "My father was not only a farmer for the local area, but he was also one of our village's best guards. He had the skills of a Huntsman without ever even going to any of the combat schools or Huntsmen academies. When the play was about to begin a guard notified my father that the village was about to be overrun by a horde of Grimm."

"That's horrible." Ruby said as she looked down as well.

"I wish that was the worst of it," The soldier continued. "My father split up from the rest of us to help out with the battle and I had to take my mother and sister to the bunker we had in case of something like that." Ruby remained silent and listened intently as Harkness went on about the events. "After a while everything aboveground went quiet. Then we heard a Bulkhead and someone was on the other end of the intercom claiming to be a Huntsman… One of the men of our village opened the door to only reveal that they weren't Huntsmen at all."

"Who were they then?" Ruby asked worriedly.

"I didn't know it then, but I later realized who they were. Those damn White Fang terrorists." He spat the name of the organization with such an amount of hate and disdain, that Ruby never expected anyone to feel that way to anything. She bit her lip at remembering that one of her close friends was a former member of the group.

Harkness then told her about the teenager who threw Harkness his sword and how they had planted bombs around the bunker. Ruby shuddered from hearing the story. "I knew they weren't the greatest, but I never expected any of that." She said solemnly.

"I know that not all Faunus are like them. My grudge is against the Fang itself, not the race as a whole." Ruby smiled a bit after hearing the soldier state that he had nothing against the Faunus.

Harkness then continued telling Ruby of what happened with his father, which had earned her giving him a comforting half-hug as they walked, then he moved on to the militia that was formed. Ruby seemed enthused about his tactic on taking down the deathstalker, and gave a fist pump after hearing about the way the beast was blown to bits. But as he continued, he finally reached the point of his sister's death.

Ruby felt her heart crumble as the soldier seemed to die inside as he spoke about his beloved sister dying right before him.

"The look on her face was the worst part…" He said trying to hold back from breaking down. "The fear in her eyes, the plea of help that couldn't be heard… And it was all because I was too big of an idiot to let my guard down for mere seconds…" He stopped walking and sat down on the sand, bringing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. "She died because of me."

Ruby took a seat next to him and remained silent for a long while. Eventually she finally gave him another hug. "It wasn't your fault, you couldn't have done anything about it. You worked really hard and deserved a break there."

"That's exactly it though… I _couldn't_ do anything about it. I wasn't strong enough, and she payed for it." Harkness was shaking at this point and his voice was showing signs that he was close to having a mental breakdown.

Ruby squeezed in her hug in an effort to comfort the soldier. "You were only ten years old, how could you be that strong? Answer is, you can't. Heck, what you pulled off there was probably more than anything I could pull of right now. You did your best, and went farther than most people could. You should be proud of that Harkness."

Her words were sincere, and they brought a great amount of comfort to the teen. They sat in silence for a few minutes once more.

"Thanks Ruby." Harkness said, his voice gaining a bit more strength than it had before. "You're right. I was far too young and inexperienced to have any true control of the situation there, and the bit I did have was something amazing."

"Definitely!" Ruby shouted with excitement. "Who would ever expect a kid to kill a huge deathstalker like that?!"

The two broke into a bit of laughter and the mood was brought into a much brighter one than Harkness expected. Once their laughter died down, Harkness noticed a shadow along the coast not far from them.

He stood and Ruby followed his gaze as she did the same. "What _is_ that?" She asked herself more than anyone. Harkness equipped himself with his high caliber pistol and katana and made his way towards the outline of the building with Ruby in tow behind him.

He activated a flashlight on the handgun to reveal a sign hanging over the boardwalk. "Virgil's Ferry Service." Harkness read aloud.

Ruby's eyes widened and a smile formed across her lips. "This is the place we were going to use to get to the mainland!" She shouted with glee.

After her outburst, a light from the main building was flicked on and a man came out with a double barrel shotgun in his hands and ready to fire at any threat. "Who are you and what are you doing on my property!" He shouted as he pointed his weapon at the duo. Harkness took aim at the man and was ready to fire if needed.

"Wait!" Ruby shouted and threw her arms in the air. "We just wanted to use your ferry to get to Mantle!" She said to the man.

"Oh, well why didn't you say so!" He said as he lowered his weapon, as did Harkness. "The name's Virgil, so where ya headed specifically?"

Blake awoke in the early morning from a fitful slumber. During the majority if nights since Beacon had fallen, Blake was left with nightmares that plagued her constantly. They varied from events that transpired that day, to the mistakes she made that night, and lastly to what could have become of her friends after she left.

Because the faunus had left before anyone could object, she never even found out if her friends escaped the school that was soon overrun with Grimm. Why all of the beasts were attracted to the school, Blake still couldn't fully wrap her head around. Maybe it was the giant dragon-like beast? She could only assume.

She made herself a quick breakfast from one of the MRE's she was provided with and pushed the thoughts out of her mind the best she could. Which gave her a few minutes of silent peace… But then they flooded her again.

One of the most prominent things she thought about now was why she ran away. Quickly she reminded herself that that's what she always did. Heck, it's even what her semblance is; Leave behind something else to take a hit so she can run away herself.

More so what was bothering her of the mistake she had made was _who_ she had left behind. Not only did she leave behind her adorable leader, but also the hot-headed heiress who was actually slowly making improvements to her usual cold ways. Then, there was the most important individual she left behind… Her partner, and one of her closest friends at this point.

Blake had never had as close of a bond to anyone like she had with Yang, not even when she was running with Adam. Thinking of the two of them at once made Blake grimace as she remembered the state she left her partner in. The brawler had to have taken it horribly when she came to, and what did Blake do? She left her partner when she probably needed her the most. Blake cursed at herself for making that decision as she finished her meal.

At first Yang was a bit much to handle, but as time drove on Blake tended to like her wild side. As even more time dragged on, there were more things Blake found she liked about the blonde. There was the way she protected her sister, the cute way of how she fiddles with her hair when she was uncomfortable, and even that sway in her hips when she walked…

For a good few minutes the faunus reminisced about all of Yang's features and traits and began realizing there was more depth to their bond than she thought. She found herself getting a different kind of bubbly feeling when thinking of Yang again.

"Huh," She began thinking aloud. "Who would've expected me to fall for that blonde knucklehead." She chuckled to herself. After she was finished with the bit of humor she found in the statement she was hit with even more guilt. "… And I just left her there." She hung her head low and covered her face with her hands.

Tears began to well in the faunus's eyes, and sooner rather than later, fell to the floor as if her hands were rain clouds, draining themselves of salty water that depicted sadness and remorse.

Blake cried like that until she had no more tears to shed, leaving her feeling slightly better oddly enough, but still regretful. This made her mission all the more important. Perhaps if she finds Adam and brings him to justice sooner, she can track down the rest of the team and reunite with Yang! Then she can admit her newfound feelings, and who knows, maybe Yang will even feel the same way!

With these new thoughts, a smile graced the girl's lips and she grabbed her gear. _'Time to head to Beacon'_ She thought to herself as she opened the door. _'Besides, who would a huntress be without her signature weapon.'_

A/N:

*Claps hands on cheeks and gasps* Blake's going back to get Gambol Shroud back OMG!

All joking aside, yes that is what Blake is doing at this point. Oh no, but what about all of the Grimm infesting the school's grounds? You'll just have to wait and see!

Now I know I've been saying this more and more, but this has to be one of my favorite chapters to work on now. We got to see a good bit of events unfold here, with Taiyang beginning to open up a bit about Harkness, we got a nice fluff bit where Ruby and Harkness shared their nightmares from a couple chapters back, and get another update on everybody's favorite feline ninja!

I had a great time writing this and I hope you all enjoyed it as well. Feel free to give me feedback, I won't bite (Or will I, lol)!

Also, turns out my friend's OC may not appear in my fic now, because when we were discussing crucial plot points we found that our endings had a preeeetty~ big conflict. So now instead of having our stories linked into one, they will be AUs of each other. Once he gets his fic out there I'll let you all know so if you feel like checking it out you can. Let him know I sent ya!

At this point you're all up to date and the weekly/biweekly uploads will be in effect from now on.

And lastly, my god, volume 4 is here! There was a bit of issues that made me have to wait a day later to see the premier, but nonetheless I loved it! The feels at the blacksmith really pulled on my heartstrings, but I won't spoil it for you guys. Seriously, if you haven't seen the new episode, check it out! Some funny coincidences occurred that made me laugh, one of which being there was a point where one of the new villains mentions an eye for an eye, which was the original title for this fic XD

Anyway, thanks for tuning in everyone, I hope to see you all soon!

-GG


	10. Chapter 10

Waking up in the morning, Ruby stretched her arms above her head and let out a long yawn. After a minute of letting herself wake up more, she stood and made her way to her pack to pull out a granola bar to eat for breakfast.

No one else seemed to be awake at the moment so she decided to also grab her headphones from her pack and listen to some music while she ate. After grabbing the headset and bar, she made her way to the cliff and sat at the edge, turning her scroll on and preparing to blast some tunes.

Normally the girl would listen to some rock music but instead turned on some soothing orchestral as she stared at the ocean while she consumed the bar of oats. The strings in the music played a beautiful symphony that would likely bring tears to the girl if she were more awake.

After finishing the snack-sized meal, Ruby remained at that spot, zoning out to the combination of string instruments and the slow-moving waves. The Rose girl was so zoned out in fact, that she didn't even notice the presence of another individual next to her. Upon turning to look farther down the coast, she nearly jumped off the cliff with a squeak.

Qrow grabbed her so she didn't fall, and shook his head with a smirk. His lips moved as if he was speaking, but Ruby couldn't hear it over the rising tension in the song that was currently playing. She then took the headphones off to hear what her uncle had to say. "Come again?"

"I said you'd think a Huntress-in-training would be more attentive when they are in a dangerous position." He replied, now with Ruby able to properly receive what he was saying.

"Sorry uncle Qrow. Nobody else was up so I figured I'd just wait it out with some music." She turned away bashfully. "Probably not the greatest idea to do that over a cliff though…"

Qrow let out a quiet laugh. "Don't be so hard on yourself, I was only teasing. Believe me, I've done a lot more stupid things in my youth." He stated while lying back in the grass with his legs still hanging over the outcrop of stone and dirt.

"Any prime examples?" Ruby asked with a bit of a playful edge as she laid herself back as well.

"Eh~ I'd rather not give you any ideas." He replied with a chuckle. "Gods only know what your father would do to me."

"Aw~, but I love your stories, please~?" Ruby put up one of her signature puppy-dog eyed expressions that she was so well known for changing almost anyone's mind with.

"Alright, maybe just one; But remember, I don't condone you pulling any of this of yourself alright?" He declared as he sat himself back up. Ruby simply nodded and sat cross-legged and held her chin up with her hands.

"It was a good while back, way back when really. Your father and I were out partying with some of our pals back when we were huntsmen-in-training ourselves." Qrow started, as he reminisced about the days of Team STRQ.

"We were at a huge mansion that one of the other students lived in, rich bastards they were," He added with a chuckle. "And let's just say, calling it a party is a massive understatement. There was a lot of people doing not-so-reputable things, primarily underage drinking, and let's also just say that I may or may not have indulged in a drink or two myself." Qrow was already getting a slightly scolding look from Ruby, but she still seemed interested in finding out more as to what happened that night.

"I ended up getting a bit tipsy and started making ridiculous bets with some of the guys. Things like, 'If I jump off this balcony and land in a roll, you owe me twenty lien,' and other dumb stuff like that. Needless to say, I eventually came to the point where I bit off more than I could chew. One of our friends' parents were scientists that studied captured Grimm in an attempt to learn about their biology and weaknesses. Well, we kinda got him to bring a boarbatusk to the roof to have a one-on-one fight… Without weapons."

Ruby was already trying to hold back the giggles that were forming from hearing about how foolish her uncle was that night. "Let me guess, it didn't go so well."

Qrow let out a huff. "Are you kidding me? It went great!... For the boarbatusk and anyone that uploaded a video of it all online. The thing literally threw me off the roof."

With that, Ruby couldn't contain herself and busted out laughing. "It threw you off the roof?! What were you thinking?!" She said between her laughing fit.

"He wasn't." A voice suddenly caught the attention of the two. Turning towards the voice it was clear to tell that it was Taiyang that had joined in on the conversation. "Not exactly the best story to tell your fifteen-year-old niece, now is it Qrow?"

There was a playful, yet stern meaning in his tone, which made it hard to tell whether or not he was mad at his old friend. "Hey, I already told her not to recreate it." Qrow stated to defend himself.

Taiyang just chuckled. "That's alright then… Plus the fact that I made a hundred lien off of that stunt you pulled." He said with a smirk.

"I'm still a bit pissed that you betted against me that entire night." Qrow prodded playfully.

"Yeah, but you did deserve it." Taiyang retorted.

"That I did." Qrow said as he rubbed the back of his head. "So, should we work on breakfast for everyone?"

"I don't see why not. Want to help out Ruby?" Taiyang asked.

Ruby nodded enthusiastically at the thought of seeing her friends' faces when they wake up to a meal already made for them by herself and her father.

Taiyang dug through their food supply to see what there was to make. "Why did you guys pack so many baked beans?" He asked with a frown as he found mostly the dull and boring food inside the backpacks.

"heheheh~ We kinda knew you and Yang wouldn't miss them, so~ yeah." Ruby replied sheepishly. "I was hoping you guys wouldn't be as mad at me if we took that instead of the good stuff."

Taiyang sighed. "But you weren't at all worried of how we would feel about you leaving in the first place?"

That sent them all into silence. Taiyang meant to keep that though in his head but managed to let it slip out of his mouth and into the ears of his daughter and Qrow.

"I…" Ruby paused, at a loss of words to comment with. She slumped her shoulders. "I'm sorry dad." She muttered.

With that Taiyang was able to speak up again. "No, I should be the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have said that; I can't blame you for wanting to find your friends again and doing your job as a huntress."

"So, that's what you're heading to Atlas for?" Harkness's voice drew everyone's attention out of their previous conversation. "It's been a great while since I've had any true friends, but I can feel for you. I would probably traverse the entire world of Remnant for a friend after something like Beacon. I'm just curious, how did you get split up?"

"Um… I can't exactly say," Ruby started. "I went after Juane and… another friend when Weiss and Blake supposedly got split up from the rest of us. Then I was put into a coma, so one minute I was at Beacon, the next I was home at Patch."

"I'm sorry to hear about that," Harkness continued. "But how do you know if they're in Atlas then?"

"Weiss was last seen being taken to with her father on one of their personal aircraft, we can only assume to take her home." Qrow stated.

"That wouldn't happen to be Wiess Schnee would it?" Harkness asked, a bit of a menacing tone in his voice.

"Yeah, but why would that matter?" Ruby asked confusedly, not sure why the soldier was now seeming intrigued, yet a bit angered at the mention of the heiress.

"Let's just say there's a bit of bad blood between me and the Schnee Dynasty." Harkness stated flatly as he crossed his arms. "But clearly there must be something about Weiss if you would consider her a friend."

Ruby fiddled with the hem of her skirt as she tried to come up with what to say. "Well, at first I wouldn't have called her a friend either, but over the year she's been getting better. Plus, she's kinda my partner on my team, so we have a bit of a nice bond anyway."

"Ah," Harkness now started stroking his chin and stayed silent for a moment. He still is aware of the comradery that is formed within a team, he was in the military after all.

"Why exactly are you so hesitant about us heading to the Schnees anyway?" Qrow asked.

"Well, given the fact that the initial reason I started travelling with you all in the first place was to get information I needed for an investigation I'm running, I kinda didn't sign up for a meeting with some of the people that I've come to despise." Harkness said with an edge. "Information you have yet to give me, Qrow." He shot a glare at the scythe-wielder.

After a moment of silence Qrow spoke up again. "Look Hark, I'm sorry I haven't held up to my part of the deal at all yet; If you want, later I can answer whatever questions you have. I forgot about what happened between you and [Weiss's father]."

During this entire span of time Ruby began feeling hurt, making the assumption that Harkness was only there for his work, and that all that time she spent with him was nothing real. Her father began to notice and walked over to her, placing his hands upon her shoulders in a comforting way and kneeling down to eye level with the girl. "You okay Ruby?"

She said nothing and shrugged out of her father's grip and disappeared in a red blur, leaving behind a trail of rose petals. Taiyang was trying to connect the dots and quickly reached the conclusion that his daughter was upset from how the soldier was acting. With this, he turned his attention back to Harkness, a glint of pure anger building in his eyes. "There had better be a damn good reason for this, _boy_!" Each word was laced with heavy malice.

Harkness's expression took multiple forms at that moment, first anger, then confusion, afterwards realization, and finally regret. "I'm sorry, I never meant to upset Ruby…" He remained silent for a moment. "I'll go find her."

"Like hell you will; I don't want you anywhere near my daughter." Taiyang spat without skipping a beat. "At first, I thought you were a worthless sack of disrespect, sarcasm, and plenty of other unpleasant terms; Then I saw what you did for Ruby last night, I was starting to think that I may have been wrong about you… But it looks like I should've listened to my gut; You are a selfish little _rat_ that has no concern for how your actions affect other people. You only care about yourself and that stupid little ' _investigation_ ' of yours." Taiyang gave air-quotes as he mentioned Harkness's mission. "The only people that will be anywhere near my daughter from this point on will be myself, her sister and uncle, and her friends. You have lost the right to speak to her." After this, Taiyang spat onto one of Harkness's boots. "I'm going to find my daughter; Qrow, keep an eye on the others and…" He glared at the soldier. " _It_."

Qrow gave a sorrowful look towards Harkness. "Sure thing Tai."

Taiyang made his leave, following the slowly disappearing rose petals to find his distraught daughter.

Ruby found herself in a familiar area when she found herself out of motivation to run anymore. She was in tears and curled up into the fetal position in a small clearing in the woods. There was a light layer of snow covering the ground already, and more began falling ever so slowly to pile onto Ruby.

The Rose girl began thinking back to all of the time she had spent with Harkness, and how sincere it felt. She truly enjoyed the time they spent together, whether it was chatting, going on a hunt, or simply just walking along the beach in peaceful silence. And now it seems that it meant nothing to the other individual. The thought of that sent the girl into more sobs, her tears beginning to slightly freeze on her skin due to the cold.

After a while she sat up, her eyes unable to produce any more tears. She now realized how cold it was, her breath was visible in a mist-like state each time she exhaled. She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to stay a little warmer. Then she finally took into account her surroundings. It was a familiar sight, one that she had spent a good amount of time at. Then she realized where she was.

Ruby began taking slow steps in one direction until she reached a cliff overlooking a valley. At the end of the outcrop of stone and dirt laid what Ruby was looking for.

The Rose girl sat on her knees and stared at a stone slab standing from the ground. She then took a deep breath.

"Hey Mom… I know it's been a while, so I figured I'd say hi." She paused for a moment. "There's been a lot going on recently; A lot of bad for the most part. Beacon was attacked, Vale as a whole apparently fell, two of my friends are split up across the globe, and… One of my friends was killed." Ruby paused again and took a few more deep breaths, then continued.

"Sorry that most of the updates today are kinda gloomy, but that's just how it is. There has been some cool stuff though. Juane, Ren, and Nora are here, and we've been hanging out together while we're on our way to Atlas!" There was a bit of excitement in her demeanor now, taking a turn away from her sadness. "Qrow showed up not much later, then Yang and Dad… Oh and someone else too." She slumped down a bit and lost the previous excitement. "He's this soldier from Vale and he helped out when me and my friends were in a bit of trouble; He ended up saving Qrow even. He decided to join us for a while and we ended up doing some cool stuff. He showed me how to make a bow and how to hunt; But now I don't know if he actually cared about that anymore." She closed her eyes and took a final deep breath. "Anyway, it was nice seeing you again Mom." Ruby lied down in the snow in front of her mother's grave marker and remained there.

After a few moments of silence, she heard a small crunch in the snow near her. "I had no idea you lost your mother." Ruby immediately opened her eyes and rolled herself upright to see Harkness speaking to her.

"What are you doing here?" Ruby asked with her rarely used tone of disdain as she crossed her arms and turned her head to gaze into the valley instead of the soldier.

"I know the last thing you'd probably want right now is to see me, but I have something to say." Harkness began. "That is, of course, if you permit it. I'll hold nothing against you if you turn me away."

Ruby simply sighed, still facing the valley ahead of her. "Go ahead," She had no interest in her voice, clearly not caring about the other teen in any way.

"Thank you," He started again. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry for what I said back there; I never meant to upset you. I know how it may seem like I never cared about the time we spent together, and how it may look like I'm only here to get my answers from Qrow; The latter half, at any other time, I would say was true, but not here." This now peaked Ruby's interest, as she quirked an eyebrow and turned slightly towards the soldier.

"I truly did enjoy when we went out hunting, when we just talked for an hour that night we both had nightmares, and when last night we shared said nightmares." He paused for a moment. "And I rarely do that. I usually prefer to keep my problems as just that; _My_ problems. But you had such an undying interest in trying to pry that information from me, in a friendly manner anyway, that I actually felt comfortable telling you about it."

"I genuinely care about that time we had Ruby, I really do." Harkness turned his gaze from Ruby's eyes towards the ground. "I'm sorry that I made you think any differently. If you need some time to yourself, I'll leave you to it. I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to see me anytime soon." He turned to make his leave but was stopped short when Ruby grabbed onto his wrist.

"Wait! You didn't give me a chance to make up my mind." Ruby said sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head with her free hand. "You said you didn't mean for it to sound like you didn't like being around me, right?" The soldier gave a nod. "And you said you actually _did_ enjoy that time, right?" Another nod. Ruby paused for a moment and placed a finger to her chin, letting go of Harkness's wrist, and hummed as if she were deep in thought. "Then you should be fine in my book!" Ruby said as she gave the teen a beaming grin, one of which that was contagious, as the soldier found himself developing one himself.

"So, friends?" Harkness offered as he held out a hand for a deal. Instead of receiving a handshake, like he had expected, Ruby surprised him by jumping into him and wrapping her arms around the back of his neck, almost knocking him down from the sudden addition of weight.

"Friends." Ruby said contently before she slipped down from Harkness. "So, ya ready to head back and see the rest of the gang?"

"I'd say so." Harkness replied and was about to walk away before he stopped. "That is, at least if you're done paying your respects." He said as he looked towards the grave marker.

"Oh right…" Ruby sank a bit remembering where she was. "Wait! I have an idea!" She immediately returned to her chipper mood and grabbed Harkness by the wrist yet again and practically dragged him towards the end of the cliff. "Hey Mom, there's someone here I'd like you to meet."

Taiyang was plagued with a head full to the brim of emotions. He was concerned for his daughter, enraged at the teen who caused his daughter's distress, and disappointed in himself for even thinking for a second that the boy wasn't all that bad.

He was able to follow Ruby due to the trail of slowly fading rose petals. As he ran through the underbrush he caught one of the petals in the air and noticed that it was slightly soaked, a sign of Ruby crying when she tapped into her semblance to run away from whatever causes her to do so.

 _'_ _After I help Ruby calm down, I'm gonna kill that kid. With the gods as my witnesses I swear I will.'_ As he reached a clearing he suddenly realized where he was. This was where he, Ruby, and Yang would have picnics before they visited Summer Rose's grave. _'I didn't realize we were this close.'_

He slowly continued his path as he noticed the trail of rose petals heading towards the cliff in which his ex-wife's memorial lay. As he reached the tree line, he saw something that fueled him with more rage.

Harkness was slowly walking closer to Ruby while she was speaking to her mother. _'How did he even get here before me?! I was in a full sprint the entire way here!'_ Just as he was about to charge out and beat the living pulp out of the teen, he felt a light weight on his shoulder.

Upon turning he saw the face of Qrow with a look of determination in his eyes. "Let him talk."

Taiyang let out a growl. "Why the hell should I? He left my daughter in tears!"

"He's trying to make a mesne, just give him a chance to talk it over with Ruby. I promise if he makes her cry again, you and I will give him a good beating, but until then, let him try to fix this."

Taiyang felt himself shaking as he clenched his fists. He eventually gave a long, exasperated sigh. "Alright, but if he screws up, don't be surprised if I throw him off that cliff."

"Deal." Qrow responded simply and took a knee to observe the two teens, with Taiyang following suit not long after. After a few minutes of the two talking, he was surprised to see Ruby jump onto the boy and give him a hug that reminded him much of one his blonde daughter would give.

He was surprised even more so when he saw his daughter drag the other teen towards the grave marker. "See? I told you he would fix it." Qrow stated while gesturing towards the teens.

"I guess you were right, but don't think I'm gonna let that kid off as easily as Ruby did." Taiyang stated as he shook a finger at his former teammate.

"Yeah, yeah, not like I'd expect anything different." Qrow paused for a moment. "We should probably give them some time."

"Whatever, as long as he keeps his hands to himself." Taiyang said with a shake of his head.

"You won't have to worry there Tai." Qrow waved it off. _'At least I don't_ think _you shouldn't.'_

While Vale as a whole was overrun with Grimm, Beacon Academy was a completely different story. Blake had never seen the amount of Grimm in one place during one time as she is now. _'This may have been a mistake.'_ She thought glumly to herself.

Of course, she could take on a great number of Grimm on her own, she _is_ a huntress after all, albeit in training, but she would likely die if her presence was discovered. _'I'll just have to stick with stealth and only fight as a last resort.'_

Blake slowly made her way onto the grounds of Beacon in an area where there weren't as many Grimm as there was everywhere else. Judging on where she was heading, her safest way into the academy was likely through the library.

Upon reaching the exterior doors to the great hall of tomes, she found that the doors were left with a great many claw marks and gashes. Just as luck would have it, the doors were locked as well. Blake didn't let that get her down however.

Due to her time in the White Fang, she had picked up a great many skills in the zones of stealth and infiltration, one of which being lock picking. Reaching into her bag she searched for the items she needed to get the job done. In a matter of seconds, she found the tools she was looking for.

Setting the screwdriver and bobby pin into position, the faunus got to work on finding the sweet spot of the lock. After a minute or two, she found where the lock would turn, a grin crossed her lips as she turned the lock, thus allowing the door to be opened.

As she entered the library, she found that there were some Grimm that had managed to make it into the school's halls. _'So much for an easy ride.'_ Blake worked her way around the winding bookshelves, many of which were knocked over and spilling the tomes across the floor, and made her best effort to not make a single sound.

The faunus soon found herself approaching the doors to the main halls of Beacon. She peered her head out the door and looked in both directions for any Grimm that may find her. To her pleasure, there were none in sight at the moment, prompting the girl to make her way into the halls.

Hearkening back to that day when Beacon fell, Blake attempted to find out where it was she was fighting Adam and where Yang was hurt. Thinking back to what happened to Yang brought a feeling of tightness in her chest. The sheer fact that Wilt can cut through aura as if it never existed, then proceed to cut cleanly through skin and bone was terrifying.

Blake shook the thoughts from her head and returned to tracing her steps. _'If I remember correctly it was one of the hallways in the eastern wing of the campus. Looks like I'm going to have to make it to the entire other end of the school.'_

As the faunus walked through the halls of the school slowly falling to ruins, she couldn't help but think of what could have happened in these same halls that day. _'Did some people not even make it to the airships? Were there any people left behind that had to fend for themselves? How many could have died in those few hours?'_ The dark thoughts brought feelings of grief and melancholy to the girl.

Blake eventually found herself in the cafeteria, considering it would give her a pretty large shortcut to here destination, only to find that the large room was loaded with Grimm. When she first stepped into the large hall, she gasped and immediately jumped back through the doorway. _'Okay, how will I do this?'_ The faunus peeked back in and searched for any path that would take her through the room without getting caught.

There was a certain path that she could use, since the tables were upturned they provided cover. All she had to do was keep quiet. Blake made her way to the upturned tables and crouched low behind them. She quickly shifted from table to table while staying undetected. She repeated this process for a while until she was almost at the end of the lunch hall, but wasn't paying close enough attention and stepped on a tray, thus sliding and falling to the ground with a resounding crash throughout the large structure.

Blake could hear all of the beasts in the room growl and begin heading in her direction. She stayed low, still using the tables to keep herself hidden, and quickly made her way through the open doorway. Upon glancing back, Blake could see a massive amount of Grimm surrounding and searching in the area she had just escaped from. _'It's a good thing I made it out of there when I did. Gods only know what I'd be able to do there on my own.'_ Blake then turned and continued in the direction she was heading towards and sighed in relief when she found that none of the Grimm from the cafeteria were following her.

 _'_ _I'm close to the hallway that I lost Gambol Shroud, it should be right around'-_ Blake was interrupted from her thoughts as she turned a corner and bumped into the back of something soft to the touch. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had run into, the back of an alpha beowolf, which was now turning around to face her.

Before the beast could give a howl to call its brethren, the faunus bashed the wolf-like creature in the jaw with her baton, treating her to a sickening crunch and a howl of pain as the blow dislocated the monster's jaw. A small group of beowolves nearby were able to hear the beast's cry of pain and came to its aid. Luckily for Blake these were young and inexperienced Grimm, and they were foolish enough to instead of call for more Grimm, opted to circle the girl.

Blake set herself into a defensive position and simply waited for the first beowolf to attack. The first to attack was the youngest looking of the bunch, and leapt at Blake, only to be knocked to the ground with a concussion. During the time Blake was counterattacking the first beowolf, two more sprung at her from both sides. The faunus tapped into her semblance and jumped back while leaving a shadow clone to take the hit, leaving the two beowolves to slash into each other's skin and eliciting howls of pain from the two.

 _'_ _Alright, one down, two injured, that leaves about four more.'_ Blake pressed the attack this time, dashing towards a beowolf and sending the baton into the beast's knee, sending it backwards. She then brought the baton over and onto the beast's head, knocking it down with a crunch as its skull caved in. _'Three.'_

The two beowolves from before made another charge at the faunus and one was treated to the girl sliding under them and a whack to the groin with the steel rod. Blake would have felt bad for that move if it had been on anything other than a Grimm. The attack left the Grimm in question limping towards her, an easy target. She bashed it in the side of the head, and it fell to the ground like dead weight.

The now three Grimm and one injured have begun circling around Blake once more. They surrounded her on all sides and began thinking more cleverly, all charging at once, in the hopes that their numbers would overwhelm the girl. Instead, she jumped above them all and sent her baton into the head of another beowolf. _'One injured, one injured alpha, and an untouched. This should be easy.'_ Blake smirked and kicked the untouched beast in the face and propelled herself towards the injured beowolf and smashed it's head in with the added force.

The alpha swung at the girl and landed a hit on her, chipping away at her aura, but not doing any severe damage. The faunus grabbed a flower vase that was standing on a table nearby and threw it straight into the beast's face and charged. She sent her baton into its skull and head a satisfactory crack, indicating that the beast was dead from the blow.

 _'_ _And then there was one.'_ Blake turned towards the final beast and stared it down. Glowing red eyes stared back at her as it started to circle her. After a few moments of staring each other down, Blake shook her head and pulled out her Glock and simply shot the beast right through the center of its eyes. _'Just getting it over with.'_

Now that the threat was gone the girl was able to see that she had reached her destination. After taking a few steps into the hall, memories of what happened that night flooded into her vision. The poor boy that Adam was about to kill, the Creep that would've killed her had Adam not shot it, and how easily he had defeated her. Then inevitably she saw Yang leap towards Adam, only for her right arm to be severed by Wilt's blade.

Blake felt lightheaded and stumbled onto an upturned table for support. After a moment of recollecting herself, she looked around the room for her beloved weapon. A few seconds later, she laid eyes on Gambol Shroud and a smile graced her lips.

The girl vaulted over the table and picked up the sword. She turned it around in her hands and noticed it was quite worn at this point, and caked with dirt and grime. Seeing as she had her weapon, she sheathed it onto her back and began walking the way she came, until she saw a sight that made her gag, and almost lose the contents of her stomach. Blake covered her mouth with her hand as she saw a set of blood-caked bones that looked about the length of a person's arm. Needless to say, she immediately knew to whom the bones belonged to. While still covering her mouth, and attempting to keep her lunch in her stomach, the girl ran the way she came and did everything she could to try to forget the sight she had just witnessed. _'Okay… That's going to be nightmare fuel for a good while.'_ She thought to herself as she ran.

Blake ran all through the halls until she reached the doors to the library, fortunate enough to not run into any Grimm along the way. _'Alright, objective one complete. Now to find where Adam is.'_

A/N:

Wow, I'm about 3 days behind my intended schedule, sorry about that everyone! Things have been a bit busy recently so I do apologize for the late chapter.

So, in the beginning I felt it would be good to have a bit of humor, having to come up with an event that wouldn't surprise me at all for Qrow's past, then having it turn towards a bit of drama.

I meant to add a scene where Ruby visited Summer's grave before they left Patch, but managed to be silly enough to not add it in before they got close to the point of them leaving the island haha. Hopefully I still pulled it off well :p

Added a bit of an easter egg in Blake's part of the chapter, so kudos to those who get it!

Also, Blake got Gambol Shroud back, yay!... But then saw the remains of Yang's arm… not so yay. I felt like it was necessary for her to see the remains to remind her what she was fighting for again at this point, even if it was a bit morbid.

Also, loved episode 2 of Vol 4. I was not expecting Papa Schnee's voice to be so… That, but it gave my friends and I a good laugh, so I can deal with it. And yet again more coincidences in episode 2 to my fanfic, I swear, no matter what it may look like, I have no early access or leaks on the show lol. Nonetheless, I'm excited to see what the folks down at RT have in store for us in episode 3!

The first arc is coming close to being finished here, then the next will begin! I hope you all are still enjoying the story, and I'd love to hear your feedback.

Until next time all!

-GG


	11. Chapter 11

Taking down the campsite was far easier than setting it up for the group. After their return to the camp the night before, Ruby and Harkness explained that they had found the ferry dock that Ruby had planned out as their way onto the mainland.

After their making up for their falling out early in the morning, Ruby and Harkness began making their way down to the beach, specifically the building they found the previous night, while the rest of the group was packing up their supplies. Their walk was initially in silence until Ruby eventually broke it, as usual.

"So, how are you feeling today? Well, considering we got that whole issue settled out from earlier."

Harkness simply placed a finger to his chin in thought for a moment. "I guess I'm feeling alright. Definitely a lot better than this morning. How about you?"

"I'm doin' pretty good now too, thanks for asking!" She replied with a beaming smile, causing the soldier to respond with his own.

"That's good to hear…" He paused for a second before continuing, "So, you lost your mother too, huh?" He knew the topic was probably a light subject that should be treaded carefully, the same could be said for the topic of his own family, but he thought that their mutual loss was a good reason for them to feel comfortable discussing it with each other.

"Yeah, it was a while ago…" The Rose girl began, "I only got bits and pieces of the story over the years, but from what I know it was when she went out on a mission with Ozpin." She began staring out at the ocean as she continued.

"Supposedly he found out something really important related to Grimm, and needed someone who had a special talent at eliminating Grimm to help him. It was also supposedly a top-secret mission, that's why it was only the two of them, that way there would be less casualties and hopefully keep their chances of completing it higher." Harkness nodded, knowing full well the importance of keeping classified missions for the eyes and ears of the select few.

"I don't know what it was they were doing exactly, or where they were… But…" Her eyes began to tear up and her voice wavered. "Ozpin was the only one who made it back…" Hearing this pulled on the heartstrings of the soldier. He placed a hand on the girl's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Ruby placed her opposite hand over his showing her thanks in the attempt of comfort. "And if that wasn't bad enough," Her voice was coming in shaky and low, "There was never even a body brought back… We couldn't even give her a proper burial. We just buried the only thing we had left of her that Ozpin brought back, which was her weapon."

At this point, Ruby was breaking down and began leaning against the soldier for support, to which he happily obliged. Finding a nice spot to stop and sit, Harkness led Ruby to sit on a lone boulder on the beach. The girl still leaned on his shoulder for a good few minutes until she began to calm down.

After she was able to recollect herself, Ruby began speaking again. "Thanks." The soldier simply replied with a nod, feeling that silence was a better option at the moment. "It's actually nice getting it off my chest. So, thank you." She then laid her head against the boy's shoulder, making his back tense slightly and his eyes widen.

"No worries," He replied after he recollected himself and relaxed into the contact. "I guess you just proved me wrong." He stated with a low chuckle and shaking his head, which earned a confused look from the girl as she sat back up and turned towards him.

"What do you mean? Proved you wrong about what?" She asked perplexedly.

"That talking about things makes you feel better. I've always viewed it as… Well, for a lack of better words, total bullshit, but you just showed me that I may have been wrong." He paused for a moment then started again, "And I can't really describe how thankful I really am for that." He finished with a smile.

Ruby was at a loss for words; She always did awkwardly handle receiving praise. After a few seconds of flapping her lips like a fish out of water, she finally recollected herself. "You're welcome! That's what friends are for, right?"

Harkness gave a quick scoff with a sad grin. "It's been a while since I last heard someone call me a friend." His eyes had a forlorn look, and strayed to the ocean.

Ruby would have pressed for what he'd meant, but realized the rest of the group was beginning to catch up to them. She coughed into her fist and stood before speaking. "Well, I guess we should get back to it. Everyone else is almost here."

The soldier glanced back in the direction of the now approaching crowd. _'She does have a point. Her father could get the wrong impression, and given the circumstances, I'd rather not give him a reason to tear my head off.'_

Standing up alongside Ruby, he waited silently for the group to meet up with them before walking on. Once they arrived, Juane couldn't hold back a question lingering on his mind as he saw the two were still nowhere near the ferry dock. "I thought you guys went ahead of us to make sure the guy running the boat was ready for us?"

"That was the plan… But I guess you can say we got sidetracked." Harkness replied after a shared glance with the Rose girl.

"Well, let's not keep him waiting then." Qrow suggested while taking the lead, with Harkness and Ruby following directly behind, and the rest behind them. After a minute of walking, Ruby seeming to be entranced in thought, and everyone else talking animatedly with each other, Qrow leaned towards Harkness. "So, ya workin' the moves yet?" He teased with a smirk.

"Get your head out of the gutter old man." The man in question replied while giving a playful shove to the huntsman.

"I'm just sayin', you've always seemed to have a thing for her ever since Signal." Qrow responded while throwing his hands in the air slightly. "Besides, I think you two would be a cute couple anyway." He left with a smirk, earning a punch to the arm from the teen.

"Why do I even associate myself with you anymore." Harkness stated while rolling his eyes.

The group finally arrived at the dock after a few minutes more. Upon them stepping onto the wood paneling, the owner burst through the door with a large smile. He was a balding, dark-skinned man, seemingly at least in his mid-forties. He had the usual fisherman's garbs and seemed just about ready to take the group anywhere with the jubilance he had. "Welcome back everyone! The boat's ready for ya and all ya need to do is drop your stuff off and-" He stopped mid-sentence and sniffed. "Good lord, ya'll smell like ya haven't showered in a week!" He said in his Cajun accent while waving his hand near his nose. "Luckily I 'ave one on board. And in dust's name I hope y'all use it too!"

"Alright, so the plan is to land at a small fishing village on the shores north of Vale, then work our way further north until we reach the end of this peninsula," Harkness stated as he pointed to a northern section of Vale. "From what I remember there is a large dock there which usually has cruise ships that transport people to Atlas. And if we can't get a ride from there, we'll travel back this way." Harkness dragged a line with a pencil across the map to a separate location not too terribly far from the dock. "This is an airfield that we can get a ride from if the boat plan doesn't work out."

"If a boat won't work out, what makes you think an airship or plane will get us over there?" Taiyang asked cryptically.

The teen gained a rather smug smirk. "Did I say it was an airfield? Oh, I meant it's an air force base, so I can pull some strings if need be." The look of anger that spread across the huntsman's face only made his smirk grow. _'Nice try old man, but that ain't gonna work.'_

"Sounds like a good plan to me!" Ruby stated excitedly, jumping up and down, but then stopped after a moment. "But wouldn't it be easier to just go to the air base in the first place?" She suggested.

The soldier brought the pencil to rest against his lips and stood in deep thought. "That is a good point. I was originally planning on avoiding it to allow the military to focus on evacuating Vale and their relief project, but I suppose they shouldn't mind one less Bulkhead or helicopter…"

"Oh… Well if that's the case, then we don't have to-" Ruby began but was interrupted when Harkness held up his hand.

"No, no, I like that idea better anyway. Saves us the time and trouble. So, Virgil, you got all that?"

"Yes-sir-ee, I'll take y'all north of Vale and drop ya off there." The Cajun man replied. "Sounds simple enough, long as we don't run into any of those sea dragon Grimm I been hearin' about recently."

The mention of the threat sent a wave of silence through the crowd. Everyone in the group, save the boatman and the soldier wore expressions of surprise. The beasts that Virgil was speaking of were thought to only be of legend, a common sailor's tale. They never expected it to be true.

The ferryman took notice of this. "Yep, those monsters really put up a good fight. They've made it difficult for anyone to travel by sea these days, not to mention the other aquatic Grimm." He stated while gripping onto the straps of his overalls. "Some damn fine nightmare fuel they are."

"I'm not surprised that their attacks have been increasing." Harkness began, drawing everyone's attention, pressing him to continue. "Ever since Vale's fall, the military's been focusing all their effort on evacuating citizens outside the kingdom and into our bases, secure villages, and other kingdoms, dust allowing." He said with a sad shake of his head. "Any of the coast guard and navy that would normally patrol the waters were pulled back to help with the evac."

"Sooooo… What do we do if we run into one?" Ruby asked with more than a tinge of fear in her voice.

"We fight it off." Virgil stepped forward. "Just 'cause this here is a ferry don't mean we ain't got any defenses!" He walked over to one of the multiple consoles in the bridge of the ship and slammed his fist on a button, which in turn allowed a massive cannon to fold out from under the main deck. "Good ol' Jesse should put a nice big hole right through the beast if'n they ever show their face." The man wore a triumphant smirk as he gazed at the weapon.

"Well, I guess the second amendment applies to boats too." Yang joked, earning varying chuckles and laughs from the other teens.

The remark made her father do a doubletake. He hadn't seen her make a joke for weeks! _'Hopefully that's a good sign.'_ He thought to himself as he stroked his chin.

"Alright y'all, I think it's high time ya get used to yer quarters. It'll be a little over a day's trip to get where ya wanna be dropped off. And I'm serious, get a shower people."

The group then began filing out, Harkness opting to stay a moment longer, after watching the blonde girl walk out with a glance at her stump, he made his way towards Virgil.

"Ya still need somethin' boy?" The way "boy" rolled off his tongue was in a much more pleasant tone than when it was used by Taiyang before.

"I just wanted to ask, how much range does your radio system have on here?"

The ferryman thought for a moment, his dark forehead wrinkling up in contemplation. "Maybe just over twenty-five miles… Why?"

"When we get within range of the mainland, there's someone I'd like to get in contact with." The teen answered without a moment's pause.

"Go ahead, I don't mind." Virgil replied with a shrug. "I'll let ya know when we're close enough."

"Thanks Virgil, I appreciate the generosity you've shown us."

"Think nothin' of it, I'm always happy to help! Especially when it's huntsmen that need it!" He finished with a bellowing laugh.

Harkness chuckled himself and bade the man farewell. Upon exiting the bridge, he noticed Qrow leaning against the wall outside, as if he was waiting for him. "What'd you stay to talk about?" He asked as he withdrew himself from the wall.

"I had a favor to ask of Virgil. So, what's up?"

"I thought now was a good time for me to answer those questions I promised you." He replied with a smirk.

"Well, I'm glad to see that my patience has paid off." He began a slow pace towards the bow of the boat, with Qrow following by his side at the same pace.

"Alright kid, shoot."

"Let's start from the beginning. How long have you and Ozpin know about the new Fall Maiden?" Qrow was at a loss for words. He had no idea how Harkness could have known about the Maidens, apart from thinking they were just some bedtime story for parents to read their kids at night. Harkness caught the look in Qrow's eyes and smirked. "I'm not stupid, Qrow. And after all, I've been with you and Oz for seven years now, you'd think I'd have learned some tricks about reconnaissance and espionage."

Qrow shook himself out of his stupor. "Fair point I guess. Well, Oz has known longer than I have, but I'm sorry to say we were too late to act on it."

"Yeah, I heard about that. Poor girl, Miss Nikos was a great woman, it's too bad that she is no longer among us." Harkness's gaze fell to the wood paneling below him. "She was just a kid."

"That means a lot coming from you Hark." Qrow remarked.

"Just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm blind to the fact that she was still way too young to die, Qrow!" Harkness pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Moving on-"

"Hold up a second, how did you know it was Pyrrha who was next in line?" Qrow asked with a glare.

"I hacked into Ozpin's computer about a month before Beacon fell. Got a good bit of juicy info that day. Some of it may or may not have involved Goodwitch as well." Harkness replied with a smirk, then turned serious again. "Back to what I was saying," Harkness continued as he leaned on a railing. "Do we have any information on who was trying to take her power?"

"All we know is it's a woman and that she has connections with the White Fang. There is a bit more I know about her, but Oz wanted me to keep that classified… Especially from the military and Atlas."

"Qrow, I need to know everything you can tell me. This isn't an investigation I've been tasked with, it's something I'm doing on my own accord. So please, tell me what else you know about this woman."

Qrow remained silent for a few minutes, contemplating whether to tell the soldier or not. After a few more moments, he sighed. "I haven't had as much information on it, but we believe she's working with Salem, a woman I'm sure you know of now, considering you hacked Oz's computer."

Harkness's eyes narrowed. "You mean to tell me that you and Ozpin have known that the Lord Grimm has been employing puppets, and haven't told anyone?!"

"Oz is the one who calls the shots, not me kid! Anyway, if word did get out, there would be widespread panic and paranoia, and we all know what that brings clawing at our walls!" The huntsman shot back.

"Information like this can save lives, Qrow! You can't hold stuff like this back! Hell, Pyrrha Nikos might still be _alive_ if you two would've told at least a minute few!"

"Well maybe this is something that's just out of our control!" Qrow cringed after admitting that. It was a huntsman's job to keep things in control, which hasn't been happening for quite some time now.

"Then be a huntsman and bring it back to control! You've been trained to deal with shit like this _all your life_ old man, so do it!"

"What are you guys fighting about?!" The sound of Ruby's voice cut the two out of their argument. "I could hear you both from the other end of the boat for dust's sake!" The girl ran up to the duo and stared at them sternly. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry we disturbed you Ruby, but it's something that is strictly classified." Harkness began, but stopped as his eyes met the glare of silver. He gulped, he had never expected to see that look in the girl's eyes.

"I've had enough of this ' _classified_ ' bologna, give me a real answer!" Ruby placed both hands firmly on her hips for emphasis, after giving an air quote.

The duo shared a look then turned back to Ruby, then back to each other. "Can we have a sec?" Qrow asked, earning an annoyed sigh from the girl, along with a prolonged 'fine.' Qrow and Harkness walked to a section of the deck that should have left them out of earshot from Ruby.

"What you've gotta talk about shouldn't upset her, right?" The huntsman asked with an eyebrow raising. "We all remember what happened earlier."

Harkness eyed the passing sea for a moment, then returned his gaze back to Qrow. "Yeah, I haven't forgotten. I can't really confirm nor deny whether what I have to say will upset her."

Qrow sighed. "Well, she still seems pretty determined, I get the feeling we aren't getting out of this anyway. C'mon, let's fill in the details." Qrow said as he tilted his head towards Ruby's direction. Upon seeing her, both gulped in unison, she had her arms crossed and a glare that could send even the toughest of Grimm running home to their mothers, if there ever was such a thing. As the two walked back, Qrow began with a warning to Ruby that the topics were important and needed to be kept confidential, to which she just waved off with an 'I know'.

"I think you should start Qrow. You've been a part of this far longer than I have." Harkness stated, earning an understanding nod from the man.

Qrow began informing Ruby that all of the events that had transpired recently were not coincidental. That they had been planned, likely for years. There was a group that had been sabotaging Beacon and the Vytal festival for quite some time, ever since the students from other kingdoms had come to Beacon. The group is believed to be employed by a woman named Salem, who Ozpin has found is the master of the Grimm. Qrow then told her that they hadn't found out much apart from that, but he and Ozpin were not looking forward to the results.

"So, that group. You said they were sabotaging ever since the students arrived?" Ruby asked after Qrow had finished.

"Yeah… Why?"

"I think I may know who they were." This earned a look of interest from her uncle. "When everything at the Vytal tournament started going downhill, I found Mercury Black, one of the transfer students, in a restricted area, then he attacked me when I asked him why he was there."

Qrow pulled his scroll from his pocket and began taking notes. "Mercury Black, he was on Cinder Fall's team, right?"

"Yeah, and Emerald and that other girl who never talked." Ruby responded after nodding.

"You said that the other girl never talked?" Harkness cut in.

"Yeah, she was with the group at times, but then disappeared for a while, then came back. It kept going on like that for a while."

"Was she short, maybe just about your height?" The soldier asked.

"Hey, I'm not short!" Ruby pouted for a moment. "… But yeah."

"I wasn't implying you were short, you're younger than the rest of us anyway. What I meant was there was a short girl who never spoke found by Roman Torchwick's side. I'm thinking she may be the same girl."

"So, it's good to see that we're connecting some dots here." Qrow said earning a nod from the teens. "Now, as much as I think it would be great to find out more here, we should get some rest before we get to Vale."

The teens agreed and each of the members found their way to their rooms for the rest of the boat ride.

Harkness was awoken by a knocking at his door. After rising from his bed, he wiped the sleep from his eyes and made his way over to the door to answer it. Upon pulling the door open he saw Yang standing in the hallway.

"Oh, hey Yang, what's up?" He asked as she glanced away from him.

"Did I come at a bad time?" She asked, earning a raised eyebrow from the boy.

Upon looking down he realized what she meant, he hadn't put any clothes on while he was on his way to the door, thus leaving him in his undergarments. His eyes widened and he closed the door enough to only leave his face showing. "Right, just one second." He said as he closed the door a bit more and made his way to his freshly folded clothes.

He opened the door again and gestured for Yang to enter. "Sorry about that, washed my uniform just before I hit the sack." He said while scratching the back of his head and taking a seat in one of the sofas his cabin. "So, what'd you need?"

"I just wanted to talk for a bit is all. It's kinda nice to be able to talk to someone that isn't my dad right now." She replied as she adjusted her seating to feel more comfortable.

"Well, that's fine by me. It's always nice to see a new face anyway." The soldier said with a light chuckle. "So, anything specific?"

"I guess I could start by saying thanks for giving me the bedroll the other night. I haven't had the chance to yet."

"No worries there Yang, some people deserve better quality things than others from time to time." Harkness said with a smile.

Yang returned a smile herself. "Also, I'm just a little curious, you said you were part of the air force, how old are you again?" She asked.

"Well that's a fair question. I'm actually seventeen, but I was able to get into military training much earlier on due to Ozpin pulling some strings for me. Ended up getting me into the military itself later on too."

"Ozpin? Like the headmaster of Beacon Academy Ozpin?" Yang asked, earning a nod from the boy. "I know he's a cool guy and all, but why would he make deals with the military to get some random student at his school to get into the military early?"

"Well, you can say that Oz is essentially a foster parent to me. After I lost my family seven years ago, he took me in." He said, a look of pain shot through his eyes, but was gone almost as soon as it came.

"I'm sorry to hear about that." Yang said and shifted uncomfortably. "I had no idea."

"It's fine, I wasn't sure if Ruby or Qrow had told you or your father yet, so I was prepared to take it."

"Even then, I still feel bad for bringing it up." Yang said while bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arm around them.

"Yang, really, it's fine. How about we just change the subject?"

The girl nodded and thought for a moment for what to talk about, avoiding a couple subjects, even though one of them is the main reason she came to the boy in the first place. "Well, Ruby seems to have taken a liking to you." She said after roughly thirty seconds of awkward silence. "She talks about you a lot when she's hanging out with me now."

"Oh? What kinds of things does she talk about? Just curious."

"Nothin' down that line of thought bud, if that's what you're thinkin'." She playfully spat with venom.

"That's not what I was thinking." Harkness said casually.

"Aww, you ruined the joke. Whatever. Anyway, she just talks about the things you two were doing, like that hunt, bringing her strawberries, etcetera." Yang stated while counting off on her fingers. "And from her own words, 'Just how cool he is!'" She finished while changing her voice in an attempt to mimic her sister, which ended up giving the two teens a good laugh.

"Well, I'm glad to hear she's enjoying the company." Harkness said while leaning back in the loveseat he was seated in.

"heheh, yeahhhh…" Yang's voice died down and her eyes soon found the floor.

"Is something wrong?" The soldier asked, immediately bringing Yang back to focus.

"Oh, yeah! Just, uh… *Sigh* Oh who am I kidding. Something's been troubling me for a while, and I could just use some advice." She said as she looked into Harkness's eyes with a silent plea.

"Okay, what do you need advice on? I'll do my best to help out." The soldier said as he leaned forward with concern.

"It's… Something to do with my dad… Don't get me wrong, he's been trying to be a good father and helping me out with everything ever since… Well, this." She said as she gestured to her missing limb. "I appreciate what he's trying to do, but it's just frustrating sometimes. I'm not _completely_ disabled, and I can still do a lot of things on my own!" She took a second to calm down, making sure her irises keep their lilac color. "What do you think I should do?"

Harkness nodded and sat in contemplation for a moment. "I'd recommend just talking to him. Still thank him for trying to help you, but just let him know that you just want to be able to do stuff on your own without help."

"And what if he starts freaking out?"

"First off, I don't think he should, but in the event of that happening, just stay calm and avoid argument. Try to still make your point, but without aggression."

"Maybe I'll try that. Thanks Harkness." Yang said then stood… Only to sit right back down with a sigh.

"Something else bothering you?" The boy asked while tilting his head.

"Yeah, but… I don't know, it might be too much to ask." She said, only to be interrupted by a hand being placed on her shoulder. She hadn't even been paying attention to realize that Harkness had moved to the sofa she was sitting on.

"There isn't much in this world that's 'too much' to me anymore." He said with a smirk, earning a smile from the girl.

"Clearly you haven't known me long enough." She said playfully, then returned to a serious expression. "Well, I've been thinking of starting a search that I've backed down from for a while. Has Ruby ever mentioned anything about my mom?"

"She told me a little bit about Summer, yes. However, I'm sorry to say it wasn't exactly a happy story."

"I'll take that as a no then." Yang said flatly, earning a confused look from the soldier. "Me and Ruby are half-sisters. After my mom left, he fell for Summer, Ruby's mom."

"I see." Harkness said as he stroked his chin. "You said your mother left, and I'm assuming that is who you were referring to about your search?"

"Yeah." Yang said as she looked down at her lap, where her hands lay folded. "To be honest, I've kinda been looking for her my entire childhood, but I've never gotten anywhere close to finding her, let alone get any clues on her. So, I kinda wanted to ask you a favor." She said as she looked back up and into Harkness's eyes. "I know you're already going through one investigation, but would it be alright for you to help me out too?" The pleading look in the girl's eyes showed how deeply the situation mattered to her. It would take a monster to turn her away.

"I suppose I could look into it," Harkness began. "I won't make any promises that I can be successful, but I'll do my best to help you find your mother." After he finished speaking, he was caught in a bear hug that could seemingly crush stone.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Yang nearly shrieked in his ears as she squeezed the last bit of air from the soldier's lungs. Only when Harkness started patting her back in an attempt to get her attention did she release him.

Harkness took a moment to catch his breath, then gave a smirk. "Maybe try not squeezing the life out of the people that offer to help you." The girl gave an apology only for the boy to wave it off. "No worries, I was just messin' with you. Anyway, is there anything you can tell me to help get things started?" The girl sat in thought for a moment, then began filling the boy in on the details. After the better half of ten minutes, there was a knock on the door.

"I'd better go anyway, thanks again for helping me out Hark. Maybe my first impression of you was wrong." She then gave the bot a light playful punch to the arm. "See ya."

"Until next time." Harkness said as he opened the door to let her out, and invite the newcomer in. Standing in the hallway outside the door was Virgil. Yang shared a wave with the man, then made her way to her room.

"So boy, we're close enough to land to make that radio call ya needed." The dark-skinned man said. "I hope you two weren't doin' anything naughty in there." He said a moment later after eyeing into the room.

"Nothing of the sort." Harkness said casually with a chuckle. "Thanks for letting me know."

The two then made their way to the bridge of the ferry and Harkness immediately made his way to the HAM radio. While picking up the microphone, he adjusted the frequency to the channel he was intending to get ahold of. Once he had the right frequency, he placed the mic in front of his mouth.

"Outpost Omega-Seven, this is First Lieutenant Harkness Valenwood of Vale's Air Force, do you copy? Over." He pulled the mic away for a moment and listened with no response. "I repeat, this is First Lieutenant Harkness Valenwood of Vale's Air Force, do you copy? Over."

"We copy you Lieutenant, what is your intention?" The speaker on the other end of the radio asked.

"I need a message to be sent to an associate of mine in Atlas. Could you record it and send a courier to them?" The teen asked.

"One moment while I check with my superiors." The other end of the radio was silent for a long minute, then the speaker came to life once more. "Lieutenant Valenwood, your request can be completed. Ready to begin your recording."

Harkness gave his thanks, along with a countdown for the recording to begin. "Hello Doctor Freidman, it's Harkness. I've got a favor to ask of you."

A/N:

Ugggghh, I'm sorry for the wait everyone! Life's been keeping me busy XD

So the whole, "weekly/bi-weekly" updates may not work out, due to my schedule between school, home, and general life never really giving me much of a real schedule lol. This semester is coming to its end, so I've been really busy with that, not to mention the holidays as well. So, once again, sorry for the late chapter. The schedule will probably be a chapter per month, with maybe an extra one in the same month from time to time. I also tried out a new writing method of putting actions into dialogue for example, when Yang was talking and *sigh* was in the middle, rather than end the dialogue to add the sigh, then start the dialogue again. Let me know what you think and if I should keep this method. I've also decided to change my original method of prolonging dialogue to just extending the word, and using the ~ for singing-like parts, much like most other authors use. I'll be making the edits to the previous chapters over time to accompany this change.

So, a lot of interesting things going on in the actual show at this point, and I'm starting to like Weiss more and more with each episode lol. Can't wait to see what RT has in store! Also, turns out RT beat me to something I was planning for this fic, but whatever lol. When we get to that point don't come runnin' to me saying I copied them, because I had the plan in the works for a while now XD

Also, got to see Rogue One with a group of friends, and man, was that a great movie! Even if you aren't a Star Wars fan, I'd recommend checking it out eventually. It does something that you don't see much in storytelling that I absolutely love. I won't say what it is, because of spoilers, but I think a lot of you should get it if you see the movie.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Feel free to follow, favorite, and/or leave a review!

I'll see you all soon!

-GG


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